i'y^s'd 


BOSTON  HARBOR. 


City  Document — No.  60. 


REPORT 


Erancis  B.  Fay, 

South  Lancaster. 


JOINT   STANDING   COMMITTEE 


BOSTON   HARBOR, 


rOE    THE    YEAR 


18  52. 


■i^^t?T?^sr 


BOSTON: 
185  3. 

J.   H.   EASTBTJRN,   CITY  PRINTER. 


7C 


CITY   OF   BOSTON 


In  Common  Council,  December  9,  1852. 

Ordered,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Harbor  have  au- 
thority to  report  in  print;  and  if  they  are  unable  to 
report  before  the  close  of  the  year,  that  they  be  author- 
ized to  transmit  their  report  to  the  next  Council. 

HENRY  J.  GARDNER,  President. 


In  Board  of  Mai/ or  and  Aldermen,  December  13,  1852. 

Passed  in  concurrence. 

BENJ.  SEAVER,  Mai/or. 

Committee  on  Boston  Harbor,  for  the  year  1852. 

Benjamin  S.  Allen,  Edward  H.  Eldredge, 

Benjamin  James,  Samuel  R.  Spinney, 

of  the  B  )ard  of  Mayor  David  Hamblen, 

and  Aldermen.  of  the  Common  Council. 


„.  „„^    80SI0i*C0UifitlJaH« 
*•'"         CHBTNIfT HILL,  MA 


EEPORT 


The  Committee  appointed,  in  the  organization  of  the 
City  Council,  in  the  year  1852,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  City  Ordinance,  relating  to  the  preser- 
vation of  Boston  Harbor,  passed  November  12, 1846,  and 
who  were  authorized  by  an  order  of  the  Council  of  the 
9th  and  13th  of  December,  1852,  to  report  in  print  and 
to  transmit  their  report  to  the  present  Council,  have 
attended  to  their  duty  and  submit  the  following 

REPORT: 

Very  soon  after  their  appointment,  the  attention  of  the 
Committee  was  called  to  their  duty,  by  the  reference  to 
them  of  several  orders  of  notice  upon  petitions  to  the 
General  Court,  praying  for  permission  to  extend  wharves 
and  make  other  improvements  in  and  around  the  harbor. 
With  a  strong  desire  to  give  the  questions,  thus  presented 
to  them,  that  careful  examination  which  their  importance 
demanded,  the  Committee  encountered  great  difficulty 
from  the  want  of  accessible  and  authentic  information.  It 
was  obviously  necessary  that  they  should  understand  the 
common  law  and  the  history  of  past  Legislative  action 
in  regard  to  the  subject,  as  well  as  the  original  conforma- 
tion of  the  harbor,  and  the  mode  in  which  that  had  been 
affected  by  natural  or  artificial  causes. 

In  considering  the  petitions  referred  to,  the  Committee 
gave  hearings  to  several  of  the  parties  in  interest,  and 


4  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

from  various  other  sources  obtained  such  information  as 
lay  in  their  power ;  a  great  amount  of  conflicting  testi- 
mony was  thus  adduced,  which  further  impressed  upon 
them  the  necessity  of  obtaining  an  accurate  and  reliable 
statement  of  all  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  subject. 

To  obtain  these  facts  and  to  state  them  in  a  methodical 
form  became  then  their  primary  object,  and  though  they 
soon  found  that  their  term  of  office  was  likely  to  expire 
before  that  object  could  be  accomplished,  they  were  en- 
couraged to  proceed  with  their  investigations  by  the  hope 
that  their  labors  might  alleviate  those  of  their  successors, 
and  perhaps  suggest  such  a  course  of  action  as  should 
perpetuate  the  knowledge  and  experience  gained  from 
year  to  year,  in  such  a  shape  as  to  be  of  service  to  the 
City. 

The  Harbor  of  Boston  extends  from  a  cluster  of 
islands  on  the  east,  called  the  Brewsters,  to  the  head  of 
tide  water  in  the  Charles  and  Mystic  rivers  and  the  South 
Bay.  An  essential  difference  in  the  two  portions  of  the 
harbor  and  the  necessity  of  entirely  different  treatment 
for  their  preservation,  have  led  to  a  distinction  between 
the  outer  and  inner  harbors  ;  the  outer  harbor  reaching 
from  the  ocean  to  a  line  passing  through  Governors' 
Island,  north  and  south,  and  the  inner  harbor  comprising 
all  the  tide  waters  to  the  westward  of  that  line. 

The  outer  harbor  is  protected  from  the  encroachments 
of  the  ocean  by  several  islands,  which  are  indeed  the 
chief  bulwarks  of  the  harbor ;  they  break  the  sea  as  in 
violent  storms  it  rolls  furiously  in  from  the  ocean,  and 
make  comparatively  still  water  and  safe  anchorage  ground 
within.  They  serve,  too,  an  important  purpose  in  direct- 
ing the  tide-waters,  as  they  ebb  and  flow  through  the 
main  channels,  thus  maintaining  a  depth  of  water  suffi- 
cient for  the  largest  vessels.  But  exposed  as  they  are 
to  the  full  force  of  our  easterly  gales,  and  to  constant  abra- 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  5 

sion  by  the  sea,  these  islands  and  the  external  headlands 
of  the  harbor  are  continually  wasting  away.  Very  im- 
portant changes  have  already  taken  place  ;  islands  which 
less  than  a  century  ago  were  sufficiently  large  to  be 
occupied  as  sheep  pastures,  have  entirely  disappeared. 
Of  Bird  Island  and  Nix  Mate,  for  example,  nothing  now 
remain  but  shoals,  covered  by  the  tide  at  high  water. 
These  changes,  however  serious  in  themselves,  have  been 
attended  by  others  still  more  alarming ;  the  debris  thus 
washed  away  from  island  and  headland,  have  in  process 
of  time  formed  new  shoals,  and  in  some  places  created 
bars  or  spits  which  project  from  the  islands  in  danger- 
ous proximity  to  the  main  channels. 

The  City  Government  have  made  great  exertions  in 
previous  years  to  apprize  Congress  of  these  important 
facts,  and  their  earnest  representations  have  not  been 
without  effect,  very  considerable  sums  of  money  hav- 
ing been  appropriated  by  the  National  Legislature,  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  sea  walls  on  several  of  the  islands 
to  prevent  the  further  injurious  action  of  the  sea.  A 
statement  of  what  has  been  already  done  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  will  be  found  in  another  part 
of  this  report ;  and  it  will  also  thence  appear,  that 
although  much  has  been  done,  there  yet  remains  much  to 
do  for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  outer  har- 
bor. 

The  deteriorating  causes  which  act  upon  the  inner 
harbor  are  different  in  their  nature,  and  although  as  yet 
no  essential  injury  has  been  produced,  they  are  not  less 
to  be  feared  and  guarded  against.  The  channels  of  the 
harbor  being  formed  and  continued  by  the  tide-waters 
passing  to  and  from  the  great  reservoirs  of  the  Charles 
and  Mystic  Rivers  and  the  South  Bay,^  and  the  scouring 
or  deepening  effect  of  the  tides  in  passing  through  the- 
channels,  being  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  and  velocity 


6  BOSTON  HARBOK  [Sept. 

of  the  ebb — it  follows  as  a  natural  result,  that  any  ma- 
terial reduction  in  the  area  of  those  reservoirs  must 
necessarily  reduce  the  quantity  of  water  and  diminish 
the  velocity  of  the  current,  and  thus  injuriously  affect 
the  channels.  It  therefore  becomes  a  matter  of  the  first 
importance  to  protect  these  reservoirs  from  encroach- 
ment, and  to  maintain  as  nearly  as  possible  their  natural 
and  ancient  size  or  water  capacity. 

From  the  best  information  to  be  obtained  it  appears 
that  the  original  area  of  the  inner  harbor,  including 
channels,  flats  and  marsh  lands,  covered  by  high  tides,  as 
specified  in  the  report  of  the  City  Engineer,  did  not  vary 
much  from  seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
acres.  The  present  area  covered  by  high  tides,  as  stated 
in  the  same  report,  is  as  follows,  viz  : — 

Of  Charles  River,  above  Charles  River  bridge,  1,101  acres. 
Of  Mystic  River,  above  Chelsea  bridge,  888 

Of  Miller's  River  and  Prison  Bay,  219 

Of  South  Bay  above  South  Boston  bridge,  316 

Of  all  other  waters,  3,385 


In  all,  5,859  acres. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  original  water  area  has  been 
diminished  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
acres. 

Of  the  area  covered  at  the  present  time  by  high  tides, 
one  thousand  and  thirty-four  acres  are  within  the  lines 
claimed  by  riparian  owners,  and  if  they  held  a  legal 
title  to  the  same,  without  restriction  as  to  use,  the  harbor 
might  be  filled  up  and  the  tide  forever  excluded  to  that 
extent. 

It  is  from  the  injudicious  use  of  their  property  by 
these  riparian  owners,  and  from  the  improper  filling  up 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  1 

of  portions  of  those  ancient  reservoirs  that  the  principal 
danger  to  the  inner  harbor  is  to  be  apprehended.  The 
reduction  of  the  original  area  of  the  harbor  already  no- 
ticed, has  been  chiefly  caused  by  such  encroachments, 
the  nature  and  extent  of  which  and  their  effect  upon 
the  City  and  the  harbor  respectively,  are  strikingly 
exhibited  upon  a  map  prepared  by  the  City  Engineer, 
at  the  request  of  the  Committee,  and  attached  to  this 
report. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Com- 
monwealth over  the  flats  in  the  harbor  have  been  the  sub- 
jects of  very  considerable  discussion,  and  have  received 
the  attention  of  several  boards  of  commissioners  appoint- 
ed by  the  General  Court. 

The  title  of  the  Commonwealth  is  founded  in  the  first 
place,  on  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  the  right  which 
every  sovereign  State  possesses  of  disposing  of  all  the 
property  within  its  jurisdiction,  as  the  safety  and  well 
being  of  the  whole  may  require  ;  but  if,  in  the  exercise 
of  this  right,  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  the 
State  is  bound  by  the  Constitution  to  make  compensation 
therefor. 

There  is  also  a  title  vested  in  the  Commonwealth  to 
what  is  termed  "  the  soil  of  the  sea,"  that  is,  to  the  land 
covered  by  tide  waters  within  its  territorial  limits ;  being 
a  right  to  the  ground  only,  while  the  right  of  passage 
over  it,  is  common  to  every  individual  in  the  community. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  consider  this  part  of  the  subject 
in  detail — the  title  as  claimed  for  the  State  is  here  sim- 
ply stated,  and  reference  is  made  to  the  able  exposition 
of  the  law  contained  in  the  report  of  the  Commissioners 
appointed  under  the  legislative  resolve  of  May  3d, 
1850.^ 


*  See  page  42  of  the  Appendix. 


8  BOSTON  HAEBOR.  [Sept. 

The  right  of  building  into  and  over  the  tide-water  of 
the  Commonwealth,  rests  upon  the  Old  Colony  law  of 
1641,  which  is  the  following,  viz. : 

"  It  is  declared  that  in  all  creeks,  coves  and  other  pla- 
ces about  and  upon  salt  water,  where  the  sea  ebbs  and 
flows,  the  proprietor  of  the  land  adjoining,  shall  have  pro- 
priety to  low  water  mark,  where  the  sea  doth  not  ebb 
above  one  hundred  rods,  and  not  more  where  it  ebbs  fur- 
ther. 

"  Provided,  that  such  proprietor  shall  not  by  this  liber- 
ty have  power  to  stop  or  hinder  the  passage  of  boats 
or  other  vessels  in  or  through  any  sea,  creeks  or  coves  to 
other  men's  houses  or  lands." 

This  law,  as  determining  the  extent  of  riparian  owner- 
ship, has  been  variously  construed,  but  the  highest  legal 
opinion  considers  the  grant  and  proviso  as  equally  import- 
ant in  defining  the  extent  of  such  ownership  and  restrict- 
ing the  use  of  it,  and  a  recent  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  sustains  the  authority  of  the  Legislature  to  estab- 
lish harbor  lines  beyond  which  no  wharf  shall  ever  be 
extended  into  tide  water.* 

The  legal  control  over  the  flats,  marshes,  and  tidal 
ways  of  Boston  Harbor  is  thus  held  by  the  Common- 
wealth. The  policy  pursued  by  the  General  Court  was 
for  many  years  exceedingly  liberal,  and  had  reference 
mainly  to  the  requirements  of  a  rapidly  increasing  busi- 
ness community  and  the  pressing  demand  on  all  sides  of 
the  City  for  more  land.  The  ultimate  injury  to  the  har- 
bor, that  might  result  from  the  extensive  encroachments 
authorized  by  the  General  Court,  seems  for  a  time  to 
have  been  lost  sight  of,  or  if  it  were  considered  at  all,  it 
was  left  to  the  future  to  protect  this  great  interest,  when 
protection  should  have  become  absolutely  necessary. 

*  See  in  page  56  of  the  appendix,  an  abstract  of  the  decision  referred  to,  pre- 
pared by  C.  W  Storey,  Esq. 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No  60.  9 

At  an  early  day,  the  City  authorities,  as  before  stated, 
manifested  great  interest  in  this  subject.  They  took  mea- 
sures to  represent  to  the  National  Government  the  inju- 
rious effects  upon  the  channels  of  the  outer  harbor,  occa- 
sioned by  the  gradual  washing  away  of  the  islands  and 
headlands,  and  petitioned  for  and  obtained  several  large 
appropriations  for  their  preservation. 

For  the  first  active  steps,  in  this,  as  well  as  in  many 
other  matters  of  great  importance  to  the  City,  we  are  in- 
debted to  the  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  then  Mayor,  who,  in 
November,  1823,  called  the  attention  of  the  City  Council 
to  the  importance  of  securing  Deer  and  Rainsford  Islands 
from  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  A  committee  was  in  conse- 
quence appointed,  who  reported  in  the  same  month  that 
an  examination  of  those  islands,  made  in  company  with 
Commodore  Bainbridge  and  other  gentlemen  skilled  in 
maritime  concerns,  had  resulted  in  a  conviction  of  the 
importance  of  taking  immediate  measures  to  secure  them 
from  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  The  committee  recommend- 
ed that  a  memorial  should  be  immediately  addressed  to 
Congress,  asking  for  an  appropriation  to  preserve  those 
great  defences  of  the  harbor,  upon  which  its  safety  and 
convenience  and  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  City 
depended.  They  also  suggested  the  erection  of  a  break- 
water^ and  the  procurement  of  a  law  prohibiting  the 
taking  away  of  ballast  from  any  of  the  islands.  The 
report  was  agreed  to,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  carry 
it  into  effect. 

On  the  8th  of  December,  1823,  the  mayor  brought 
also  before  the  City  Council  the  importance  of  the  imme- 
diate purchase  of  George's  and  Lovell's  Islands,  the  for- 
mer being,  in  the  opinion  of  men  of  great  nautical  skill, 


*  Municipal  History  of  Boston,  page   117.    For  the  resolutions  of  the  City 
■Government,  see  Appendix,  page  72. 
2 


10  BOSTON  HARBOE.  [Sept. 

the  bulwark  of  the  harbor,  both  as  being  the  best  site  for 
a  fortress,  and  as  affording  the  only  secure  anchorage 
ground  in  the  outer  harbor  for  vessels  of  every  size  and 
description,  during  easterly  gales.  He  had  ascertained 
that  those  islands,  of  such  inestimable  importance  to 
the  City,  were  the  property  of  one  individual  who  de- 
rived from  them  an  income  by  the  sale  of  stone  and 
gravel,  and  thus  assisted  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  By 
these  combined  operations  one-half  of  George's  Island 
had  been  destroyed,  and  both  of  the  islands  could  then 
be  purchased  for  the  sum  of  seven  thousand  dollars. 

The  council  were  not,  however,  prepared  to  adopt  the 
suggestion  of  the  mayor,  but  referred  the  subject  to  their 
successors. 

In  November,  1824,  the  mayor  again  brought  this  sub- 
ject before  the  City  Council,  stating  that  these  islands 
ought  to  belong  to  the  City  ;  and  that  although  the  duty 
of  fortifying  the  harbor  belonged  to  the  United  States, 
yet  a  favorable  opportunity  for  vesting  the  title  to  any 
of  its  natural  defences  in  the  city  ought  not  to  be  lost. 
He  added,  that  the  adoption  of  such  a  measure  by  the 
City  Council  would  strongly  express  their  sense  of  the 
importance  of  those  islands  and  exert  a  propitious  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  any  application  to  Congress  for  their 
protection. 

This  persevering  urgency  of  Mr.  Quincy  effected  its 
object.  The  sanction  of  the  City  Council  was  obtained, 
and  a  committee  appointed  with  full  powers,  who  report- 
ed, in  March,  1825,  that  George's  and  Lovell's  islands 
had  been  purchased  for  six  thousand  dollars,  upon  satis- 
factory terms  and  conditions. 

Negotiations  with  the  General  Government  were  then 
entered  into,  in  the  course  of  which  the  views  of  the 
City  Council  were  ably  sustained  by  James  Lloyd  and 
Daniel  Webster,  then  the  senators  of  Massachusetts  in  Con- 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  11 

gress,  and  they  resulted  in  a  transfer  to  the  United  States  of 
the  soil  and  jurisdiction  of  George's  Island,  and  so  much 
of  Deer  Island  as  should  be  covered  by  their  works,  and 
in  an  appropriation  by  Congress  of  forty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  protection  of  George's  and  Deer  islands  by  sea 
walls.  This  sum  was,  however,  applied  to,  and  exhausted 
in  protecting  George's  Island  only. 

In  November,  1827,  Mr.  Mayor  Quincy  again  called 
the  attention  of  the  City  Council  to  the  state  of  the  sev- 
eral islands  and  beaches  in  the  different  portions  of  the 
harbor,  stating  that  the  former  appropriation  made  by 
Congress  had  been  expended,  and  that  additional  appro- 
priations were  requisite  for  the  protection  of  the  harbor. 
At  the  same  time,  he  called  their  attention  to  a  petition, 
pending  before  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  from  the 
town  of  Chelsea,  relative  to  the  jurisdiction  over  Chelsea 
beach  and  to  the  importance  of  maintaining  that  beach 
in  its  present  state.  He  adverted  also  to  the  practice  of 
taking  ballast  and  sand  from  Bird  Island,  and  from  the 
bar  extending  from  the  Great  Brewster  to  the  stone  mon- 
ument at  the  entrance  of  the  narrows. 

An  application  to  the  Legislature  was  accordingly 
authorized,  and  an  act  obtained,  providing  against  the 
several  injuries  which  were  specified  or  apprehended.^ 

In  1828,  a  memorial  to  Congress,  showing  the  import- 
ance of  the  protection  of  Deer  Island,  was  prepared  and 
forwarded  by  the  City  Council,  and  was  ably  sustained 
by  Mr.  Gorham,  the  representative  of  the  City  in  the 
House.  An  appropriation  of  eighty-seven  thousand  dol- 
lars was  thereupon  made,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
sea-wall  on  Deer  Island,  which  was  commenced  in  the 
same  year. 

The  sagacity  and  foresight  which  prompted  these  early 
movements  for  the  preservation  of  the  outer  portion  of 

Municipal  History  of  Boston,  page  119. 


12  BOSTON  HAUBOR.  [Sept. 

tlie  harbor,  and  the  energy  and  perseverance  which 
pressed  them  to  a  successful  conclusion,  were,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  inner  harbor,  further  displayed  in  the  same 
year  (182B),  when  the  proprietors  of  wharves  at  the 
northerly  part  of  the  City,  petitioned  the  Legislature  for 
permission  to  extend  their  wharves  into  the  channel  of 
the  harbor. 

The  Mayor,  apprehensive  that  such  permission  might 
injuriously  affect  the  free  navigation  of  the  channel,  re- 
quested the  Legislature  to  suspend  its  proceedings,  and 
by  special  message  brought  the  subject  before  the  City 
Council,  as  being  obviously  of  great  importance.  After 
stating  the  probable  consequences  of  inconsiderate  action, 
as  well  in  granting  authority  to  extend  wharves,  as  in 
the  mode  of  carrying  such  grants  into  effect,  he  sug- 
gested that  merchants  and  other  persons  acquainted  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  harbor  should  be  appointed 
commissioners  to  examine  and  report,  upon  every  petition 
for  leave  to  extend  any  structure  into  the  harbor,  such 
facts  and  opinions  as  might  guide  the  City  Government  in 
deciding  on  its  merits;  and  that  every  grant  of  such 
permission,  made  by  the  Legislature,  should  be  on  con- 
dition that  the  work  should  be  executed  in  a  manner  sat- 
isfactory to  the  City  Council. 

This  recommendation  resulted,  finally,  in  the  passage 
of  an  order  for  the  appointment  of  a  joint  committee  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  City  Council,  to  take  such  mea- 
sures as  they  might  deem  proper  to  protect  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  City,  in  the  extension  of  wharves  into 
the  channel  of  the  harbor,  with  power  to  appear  before 
the  Committee  of  the  Legislature  that  had  the  subject  in 
hearing,  and,  if  necessary,  to  employ  the  City  Solicitor 
to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  City  in  the  premises. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  powers  given  to  this  commit- 
tee were  very  similar  to  those  possessed  by  the  present 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  13 

Joint   Standing  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  which 
was  provided  for  by  an  ordinance  passed  in  1846. 

In  1829  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  was  again 
called  to  the  subject,  by  a  special  message  from  the  May- 
or, Harrison  Gray  Otis,  it  having  been  represented  that  the 
channel,  extending  from  Long  Wharf  southerly  to  South 
Boston  new  bridge,  was  becoming  more  shallow  from  va- 
rious causes,  that  vessels  lying  at  the  wharves  in  that 
space  were  endangered  by  easterly  storms ;  and  that 
there  was  no  position  in  that  quarter,  which  could  be  safe- 
ly occupied  by  steamboats. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  the  Mayor,  that  if  the  flats  ly- 
ing east  of  the  channel  (beyond  the  reach  of  individual 
claims)  were  the  property  of  the  City,  improvements 
might  be  made  upon  them  by  means  of  breakwaters  or 
island  wharves,  that  would  afford  effectual  protection  to 
the  harbor  and  wharves  in  that  quarter,  and  obviate  the 
increasing  shallowness  of  the  channel ;  that  such  im- 
provements might  be  made  without  expense  to  the  City, 
and  possibly  upon  contracts  that  would  afford  some  ulti- 
mate revenue ;  that  it  would  seem  proper  and  necessary 
that  these  flats  should  become  the  property  of  the  City, 
inasmuch  as  memorials  were  and  would  continue  to  be 
frequently  presented  to  the  Legislature  for  private  grants 
and  immunities,  by  the  proprietors  of  wharves  and 
estates  lying  in  that  neighborhood,  of  the  reasonable- 
ness or  injurious  tendency  of  which,  as  well  as  the  limi- 
tations and  regulations,  to  which,  if  granted,  they  ought 
to  be  subjected,  the  City  Government  would  possess  the 
most  competent  means  of  deciding,  as  the  premises  were 
constantly  under  their  observation. 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Mayor,  a  committee 
was  appointed,  who,  after  investigating^  the  subject,  and 
obtaining  the  opinion  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,*  re- 

*  See  Appendix,  page  73, 


14  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

ported  the  following  orders,  which  were  passed  June  lOth, 
1829. 

Ordered,  That  the  Mayor  be  requested  to  apply,  in  be- 
half of  the  City  Government,  to  the  Legislature,  and 
endeavor  to  obtain  therefrom  a  grant  to  the  City  of  such 
portions  of  the  flats  lying  east  of  the  channel  and  ex- 
tending from  the  free  bridge  north  easterly  towards  Fore 
Point  channel,  as  may  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  wharf  or  breakwater,  to  extend  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston  free  bridge  towards  said  Fore 
Point  channel,  or  on  such  parts  of  said  flats  as  may  here- 
after be  thought  proper  to  be  used  for  that  purpose. 

Ordered,  that  the  Senators  of  this  County,  and  the 
Representatives  of  the  City,  be,  and  hereby  are  request- 
ed to  aid  in  obtaining  a  grant  of  the  premises  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid. 

In  accordance  with  these  orders,  a  memorial  was  pre- 
sented on  behalf  of  the  City,  to  the  Legislature  of  1830, 
and  was  by  them  referred  to  the  next  General  Court. 
The  same  course  was  taken  in  regard  to  it  in  1831,  and 
no  further  mention  of  it  is  made  in  the  records. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  definite  or  important  ac- 
tion upon  subjects  connected  with  the  harbor,  was  taken 
by  the  City  Council  for  several  years  after  this  date. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1835,  the  number  of  petitions  to 
the  General  Court,  for  permission  to  extend  wharves  into 
the  harbor,  yearly  increasing,  the  attention  of  that  body 
was  directed  to  the  necessity  of  greater  caution  than  had 
been  heretofore  used  in  granting  the  prayers  of  such  pe- 
titioners ;  the  want  was  felt  of  scientific  information  re- 
specting the  effect  of  the  extensive  encroachments 
already  authorized,  and  under  authority  of  a  resolve 
passed  on  the  5th  of  March  in  that  year,  to  cause  a 
survey  to  be  taken  of  certain  portions  of  the  harbor,  and 
lines  to  be  defined  beyond  which  no  wharves  shall  be  ex- 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  15 

tended  into  and  over  the  tide-water  of  the  Common- 
wealth,— the  first  board  of  commissioners  was  appointed 
bj  the  Governor. 

A  full  account  of  the  action  of  the  General  Court  up- 
on the  subject  of  the  harbor,  from  that  time  to  1852,  will 
be  found  in  the  first  fifty-six  pages  of  the  Appendix. 
Extracts  from  the  reports  are  therein  given,  of  such 
length  as  to  embody  the  most  important  opinions  and 
views  of  the  several  boards  of  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  State  Government. 

The  Committee  have  chosen  this  course,  rather  than  the 
insertion  of  such  a  brief  summary  as  might  properly  have 
place  in  their  report,  confident  that  they  could  in  no 
other  way  so  effectually  show,  that,  whatever  special 
views  may  have  been  entertained  by  the  several  commis- 
sioners and  committees  who  have  examined  the  subject, 
they  have  all  been  deeply  impressed  with  its  vast  import- 
ance to  the  City,  the  State  and  the  Nation.  Interesting 
and  valuable  as  these  reports  are,  they  are  relied  upon 
in  this  connection  mainly  to  sustain  the  position,  that, 
however  important  our  harbor  may  be  in  a  national  point 
of  view,  as  a  port  of  entry  in  times  of  peace,  contribut- 
ing largely  to  the  revenues  of  the  government,  as  the 
spacious  gateway  in  times  of  war  to  the  homes  of  a  rich 
and  happy  community,  defended  by  costly  fortifications 
and  protecting  the  important  naval  station  of  Charles- 
town  ;  and  however  valuable  to  the  State,  as  its  greatest 
seaport,  the  great  centre  of  its  flourishing  business,  and 
indeed  the  very  life  source  of  that  mighty  impulse 
which  throbs  through  every  town  and  hamlet  within 
its  borders,  which  improves  the  mill  courses,  employs 
the  mechanic,  gives  the  farmer  a  market  at  his  door, 
and  courses  over  iron  roads  northward  and  westward,  con- 
tributing in  every  way  to  its  wealth  and  prosperity, — 
however  all  this  may  be,  and  whatever  claims  we  may 


16  BOSTON  HAEBOR.  [Sept. 

have  upon  the  Nation  and  the  State  for  assistance  in  the 
protection  and  preservation  of  our  harbor,  still,  inasmuch 
as  the  harbor  of  Boston  is  of  vastly  more  comparative 
importance  to  the  City  itself,  than  it  can  possibly  be 
either  to  the  State  or  the  Nation,  in  the  same  ratio  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  the  City  to  guard  with  watchful  eye 
all  that  concerns  this  vital  interest. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1838,  a  joint  special  committee 
of  the  City  Council  was  appointed  to  take  into  consider- 
ation the  defenceless  state  of  the  Harbor,  and  the  expe- 
diency of  addressing  a  memorial  to  Congress  on  the  sub- 
ject, or  of  instructing  the  representative  of  the  City  in 
that  body  to  use  his  personal  exertions  to  procure  the 
adoption  of  suitable  measures  in  regard  to  it. 

On  the  18th  day  of  June,  the  Mayor,  Mr.  Samuel  A. 
Eliot,  as  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  reported,  that  a 
sub-committee  of  their  number  liad  visited  the  works  at 
Fort  Independence  and  George's  Island,  and  conferred 
with  Col.  Thayer,  the  superintendent,  upon  the  subject. 
The  committee  had  thus  learned  that  while  Fort  Inde- 
pendence was  so  nearly  completed  that  the  harbor  would 
soon  cease  to  be  in  that  absolutely  defenceless  condition  in 
which  it  had  so  long  remained,  yet  the  Avork  upon 
George's  Island  had  been  suspended  for  want  of  an  appro- 
priation. 

The  Mayor  was  therefore  instructed  by  the  Council,  to 
urge  upon  the  representative  of  the  City  in  Congress  the 
importance  of  obtaining  a  suitable  appropriation  to  com- 
plete the  defensive  works  in  the  harbor ;  and  to  commu- 
nicate with  such  other  members  of  Congress  on  the 
subject,  as  he  might  think  proper. 

It  appears  by  the  records  of  the  General  Court  that  in 
1343,  upon  a  petition  of  the  City  of  Boston^  a  resolve 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  17 

(Res.,  1843,  chap.  16)  was  reported  and  passed,  request- 
ing the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  this  Common- 
wealth in  Congress  to  exert  themselves  to  procure  the 
passage  of  measures  to  prevent  further  injury  to  the 
islands  and  headlands  in  the  harbor  of  Boston  from  the 
action  of  the  sea. 

At  the  session  of  Congress  in  the  early  part  of  the 
same  year,  the  sum  of  $15,000  was  appropriated  for  the 
protection  of  Lovell's  Island,  and  this  sum  was  expended 
in  the  erection  of  a  sea  wall  upon  that  island. 

In  1846,  by  a  communication  from  R.  B.  Forbes,  Esq., 
President  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  the  attention  of 
the  Cit}^  Council  was  called  to  the  importance  of  taking 
some  immediate  action  in  reference  to  the  preservation  of 
the  islands  and  headlands  of  the  outer  harbor.  A  report 
from  a  committee  of  the  society,  accompanying  that  com- 
munication, contained  some  interesting  information  in  re- 
gard to  the  encroachments  of  the  sea  upon  the  islands  at 
the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  the  importance  of  those 
islands  to  its  preservation. 

Some  statements  were  also  made  in  this  report  relating 
to  the  quantity  of  stone  and  gravel  annually  taken  from 
the  islands  and  beaches,  which  was  estimated  as  follows, 
viz : 

From  Point  Shirley  and  Chelsea  beach,      50,000  tons. 
From  Brewster  Island  and  the  Spit,  30,000 

From  Deer  Island,  2,000 

From  Long  Island,  20,000 

From  Gallop's  Island,  10,000 


In  all,  112,000  tons, 

besides  a  large  quantity  known  to  be  taken  from  Point 

Alderton  and  other  places,  greatly  to  the  injury  of  the 
harbor. 

Annexed  to  the  report  above  alluded  to,  was  a  report 


18  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept 

made  by  Col.  Thayer,  of  the  XJ.  S.  Engineers  to  the 
Treasury  Department. 

An  order  was  immediately  passed  by  the  City  Council 
appointing  a  committee,  to  whom  were  referred  the  me- 
morial of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  and  the  documents 
accompanying  the  same,  together  with  the  petition  of 
William  Appleton  and  others  relating  to  the  same  sub- 
ject. 

This  committee  reported  in  June,  1846;  they  stated 
that  in  the  contemplation  of  the  subject,  its  importance 
was  so  deeply  impressed  upon  their  minds  as  to  lead 
them  to  believe,  that  years  of  labor  and  of  thought 
might  be  considered  a,s  well  rewarded,  if  they  should  be 
the  means  of  enlisting  the  hearty  and  effectual  co- 
operation of  the  City  Government,  in  eflbrts  to  avert  the 
catastrophe  of  which  they  were  warned,  and  for  the  ap- 
prehension of  which,  they  felt  convinced  there  were  strong 
grounds.  They  also  submitted  statistics  showing  the  in- 
creasing commerce  and  the  growth  of  the  City.  Statistics 
upon  these  points  are  constantly  before  the  City  Council, 
and  the  committee  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  their 
present  purpose,  to  present  further  proof  of  that  which 
falls  within  the  individual  experience  of,  and  must  be 
apparent  to,  every  citizen. 

There  is  one  point  of  comparison,  however,  that  in  this 
connection  deserves  particular  attention.  The  Committee 
of  1846,  stated  that  within  the  last  generation,  the  size 
of  vessels  intended  for  foreign  trade,  sailing  from  this 
port  had  been  doubled,  and  within  a  much  shorter  period 
those  employed  in  the  coastwise  trade,  had  been  more 
than  doubled  in  size. 

"  Thirty  years  since,"  they  say,  "  a  vessel  of  300  tons 
for  foreign  voyages  was  of  the  largest  class.  Those  now 
built  for  this  purpose  are  from  5  to  600  tons,  and  a  few 
reach  as  high  as  8  or  900  tons.    Thus  it  will  be  perceiv- 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  19 

ed,  that  while  the  capacity  of  the  vessel  has  increased,  the 
depth  of  water  in  the  harbor,  which  is  to  bear  her  and 
her  burthen,  has  as  constantly,  though  less  rapidly,  de- 
creased; and  the  result  to  our  beloved  City,  unless  pre- 
vented by  those  to  whom  belong  the  power  and  the  duty 
to  do  it,  must  be  disastrous  in  the  extreme." 

Through  the  kindness  of  Gen.  Andrews  of  the  Regis- 
try Office,  Boston  Custom  House,  the  Committee  have 
obtained  a  tabular  statement  showing  the  increase  in  the 
number,  as  well  as  in  the  size  of  vessels  registered  at  this 
office.^  It  appears  that  the  average  tonnage  of  the 
ships  registered  in  1850  was  1019  tons;  in  1852,  1001 
tons;  and  in  the  first  nine  months  of  1853  the  number 
was  equal  to  that  of  any  preceding  year,  and  the  average 
tonnage  was  1236.  Several  have  been  built  of  more 
than  2000  tons  burthen,  and  one  is  now  about  to  be 
launched  of  4000  tons. 

This  increase  in  the  size  of  commercial  vessels  is  not 
confined  to  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  but  is  equally  observ- 
able in  those  built  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  in  Maine, 
New  York  and  elsewhere,  which  have  frequent  occasion 
to  use  our  Harbor. 

An  examination  of  the  table  of  comparative  soundings, 
carefully  prepared  by  the  City  Engineer  at  the  request  of 
the  Committee,  and  annexed  to  this  report,  shows,  how- 
ever, that  the  opinion  that  a  material  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  depth  of  water  in  the  channels  of  the  inner 
harbor  is  not  correct ;  but  that  the  changes  have  been 
chiefly  at  the  sides  of  the  channels,  reducing  their  area 
without  diminishing  their  maximum  depth. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  1846,  an  ordinance  was  passed  creating  the 
Joint  Standing  Committee  of  the  City  Council  on  the 

*  See  Appendix,  page  75. 


20  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

Harbor  ;  and  their  Report,  with  the  accompanying  docu- 
ments, was  transmitted  to  the  Governor  of  the  State, 
with  a  request  that  he  would  lay  the  same  before  the 
Legislature,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  that  body  to 
make  an  appropriation  for  the  purchase  of  one  or  more  of 
the  most  exposed  islands  in  the  Harbor,  or  pass  a  law  to 
prohibit  the  taking  of  ballast  from  any  of  them  j  or  to 
address  a  memorial  to  the  General  Government  upon  this 
subject,  which  it  was  hoped  would  not  be  without  its 
influence. 

A  communication  from  the  Governor,  accompanying  the 
above-mentioned  documents,  was  referred  by  the  General 
Court  to  the  Committee  on  Mercantile  Affairs  and  Insu- 
rance, on  the  19th  of  January,  1847. 

The  Joint  Standing  Committee  of  the  Harbor  made 
their  first  report  on  the  12th  of  February,  1847.  It 
referred  to  Gallop's  Island  and  the  Great  Brewster,  and 
concluded  with  an  order, — which  was  passed,— to  authorize 
the  Mayor  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  the  passage  of 
an  Act  to  prohibit  the  taking  of  sand  or  gravel  from  those 
islands ;  and  also  for  a  grant  of  the  flats  in  the  Harbor 
lying  between  South  Boston  and  the  channel. 

The  petition  of  the  Mayor,  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Court,  February  16th,  1847.  Com- 
mencing with  some  remarks  upon  the  value  and  import- 
ance of  the  Great  Brewster  and  Gallop's  Island,  as  con- 
stituting the  principal  barriers  to  the  encroachments  of 
the  sea,  and  safeguards  to  the  main  channels  of  the  Har- 
bor ;  and  upon  their  gradual  diminution  by  the  action  of 
the  water ;  the  petition  stated  that  the  practice  of  taking 
ballast  from  those  islands  preA^ailed  to  a  great  extent^  and 
tended  in  no  small  degree,  as  there  was  reason  to  believe, 
to  their  destruction,  thereby  putting  in  jeopardy  the  inter- 
ests of  all  those  concerned  in  the  navigation  of  the  Har- 
bor; and  concluded  with  a  prayer  for  the  passage  of  a  law^ 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  21 

with  suitable  penalties,  prohibiting  any  person  from  tak- 
ing ballast,  sand,  gravel  or  other  soil  from  those  islands, 
or  from  any  of  the  beaches,  spits  or  bars  adjoining  them, 
or  in  their  immediate  vicinity.  This  petition  was  also 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mercantile  Affairs  and  In- 
surance. 

The  proprietor  of  the  Great  Brewster  Island,  Lemuel 
Brackett,  protested  at  length  against  the  enactment  pray- 
ed for,  as  tending  to  deprive  him,  without  compensation, 
of  the  use  of  his  property  in  the  manner  in  which  it  had 
been  used  for  a  long  series  of  years  by  him  and  his  an- 
cestors. His  protest  is  found  with  the  other  papers  re- 
lating to  the  subject  among  the  files  of  the  Senate. 

The  petition  of  the  Mayor  for  a  grant  to  the  City,  of 
the  flats  lying  north  of  South  Boston,  within  such  limits 
and  under  such  restrictions  as  might  be  necessary  to  pre- 
serve the  rights  of  all  concerned,  was  referred  to  the 
same  Committee.  An  order  of  notice  was  issued  upon  it, 
and  many  remonstrances  were  presented  against  the 
granting  of  its  prayer.  Several  of  the  remonstrances 
were  signed  by  merchants,  ship-owners  and  citizens  of 
Boston ;  one  by  Marcus  Morton,  then  Collector  of  the 
Port,  and  nine  others,  one  by  R.  B.  Forbes,  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  on 
Boston  Harbor,  and  another  by  the  Commercial  Wharf 
Company,  and  sixteen  other  wharf  corporations,  or  private 
wharf  owners. 

The  Committee  reported  April  2d,  1847,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Mayor's  petition,  and  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  1846,  transmitted  by  the  Governor,  that  it  was 
inexpedient  to  legislate  thereon,  and  this  report  was  ac- 
cepted by  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 

In  1847,  several  orders  were  passed  in  the  City  Coun- 
cil, relating  to  the  appointment  of  a  Harbor  Master,  but 
as  the  duties  of  that  officer  are  mainly  connected  with 


22  BOSTON  HAEBOK  [Sept. 

the  enforcement  of  certain  regulations  respecting  the  an- 
chorage of  vessels,  they  are  not  important  in  this  view  of 
the  subject,  although  they  have  doubtless  conduced 
greatly  to  the  safety  and  convenience  of  all  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  navigation  of  the  Harbor. 

September  18th,  1848,  the  Committee  on  the  Harbor 
were  directed  to  inquire  what  measures  could  be  adopted 
to  prevent  the  filling  up  of  the  ship  channel  between 
George's  Island  and  the  spit  of  the  Great  Brewster.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  committee  made  any  report 
upon  the  subject ;  the  omission  was  probably  owing  to 
the  late  period  of  the  session  at  which  the  order  was 
passed,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  season  of  the  year  was 
not  favorable  to  the  necessary  examinations. 

The  Great  Brewster  Island  was  purchased  by  the  City 
in  1848,  for  the  sum  of  four  thousand  dollars,  with  a 
view  to  transfer  it  to  the  United  States  Government,  and 
so  to  insure  the  building  of  a  sea  wall  around  it.  The 
Commonwealth  ceded  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Island  to  the 
United  States,  and  so  much  of  the  property.in  it,  as  might 
be  necessary  for  the  construction  of  a  sea  wall,  was  con- 
veyed to  the  United  States  by  the  City.^ 

An  appropriation  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  wall,  was  made  by  Congress  July  20th, 
1848,  and  the  work  was  commenced  early  in  the  next 
year,  according  to  plans  prepared  by  Col.  Thaj^er.  That 
accomplished  oCticer  having  in  charge  the  fortifications  on 
George's  Island,  and  being  at  that  time  in  feeble  health, 
he  was  unable  to  superintend  the  construction  of  the  wall, 
and  it  was  placed  in  charge  of  Capt.  Benham,  of  the 
United  States  Engineers. 

The  sum  appropriated  by  Congress  was  altogether  in- 
sufficient to  complete  the  work,  and  it  was  left  when  the 
appropriation  was  exhausted,  or  rather  when  $42,000  had 

*  January  30,  1849. 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  23 

been  expended,  as  it  appears  upon  a  reduced  plan  of  the 
Great  Brewster,  showing  the  abrasions  or  waste  of  the 
island  since  1820,  attached  to  this  report. 

For  this  plan,  the  Committee  take  pleasure  in  ac- 
knowledging their  obligations  to  the  Hon.  William  Ap- 
pleton,  who  kindly  procured  it  for  them  from  the  De- 
partment of  Engineers  at  Washington.  An  examination 
of  the  plan  will  show  that  the  North  Eastern  bluff,  now 
117  feet  high,  has  been  wasted  away  during  the  last 
thirty  years  more  than  150  feet;  and  as  the  slope  of  the 
bluff  is  towards  the  southwest,  it  is  estimated  that  the 
highest  point  must  have  been  at  least  130  feet  above  high 
water  mark.  The  immense  body  of  earth  which  has  thus 
disappeared,  must  have  been  deposited  where  it  could 
not  but  prove  injurious  to  the  channels  of  the  Harbor.  It 
was  washed  from  a  single  point  by  the  action  of  the  sea, 
and  we  are  naturally  aroused  to  a  sense  of  the  impend- 
ing danger,  when  we  consider  the  great  extent  of  island, 
shore  and  headland  at  the  entrance  of  the  Harbor,  con- 
stantly exposed  to  the  same  powerful  and  injurious 
agency. 

The  work  upon  the  Great  Brewster,  though  yet  incom- 
plete, has  answered  its  purpose  admirably,  It  is  in  itself 
a  superb  structure ;  all  the  principal  parts  of  it  are  now 
as  perfect  as  when  left  by  the  workmen,  and  this  not- 
withstanding the  very  severe  test  of  the  great  storm  of 
April,  1851;  in  the  course  of  which,  however,  owing  to 
the  unfinished  state  of  the  work^  the  sea  found  its  way 
round  the  southeasterly  end  of  the  wall,  and  washed  out 
the  earth  from  behind  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet,  thus  ex- 
posing a  portion  of  it  on  both  sides  of  the  sea. 

In  consequence  of  a  communication  from  the  Hon.  Wil- 
liam Appleton,  concerning  appropriations  for  Boston  Har- 
bor, the  City  Council  directed  the  City  Solicitor  to  pre- 
pare a  Memorial  on  the  subject,  to  be  presented  to  Con- 
gress, after  it  should  have  received  the  sanction  of  .he 


24  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

Committee  on  the  Harbor.  The  memorial  was  ably 
drawn,  and  met  the  entire  approbation  of  the  committee. 
In  pursuance  of  the  order  of  the  Council,  Mr.  Chandler 
also  proceeded  to  Washington,  and  took  with  him  the 
Harbor  Master,  and  Capt.  Hunt,  an  experienced  pilot,  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  all  the  facts  respecting  the  Harbor 
before  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  to  whom  the  Memo- 
rial was  referred.  On  his  return,  the  City  Solicitor  made 
a  report  of  the  result  of  his  mission,*  and  the  hopes  then 
entertained,  that  it  would  be  successful,  proved  to  some 
extent  well  founded.  An  appropriation  of  $30,000  was 
made,  on  the  30th  of  August,  1852,  for  the  continuation 
of  the  work  at  the  Great  Brewster  Island.  The  repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  from  this  District,  Mr.  Appleton, 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  obtain  an  appropriation  suffi- 
cient for  its  completion,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  his 
efforts  were  not  successful.  The  next  being  a  long  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  it  is  hardly  probable,  unless  very  great 
exertions  are  made,  that  an  appropriation  can  be  obtained 
in  season  to  continue  the  work  in  the  summer  of  1854. 
It  is,  however,  now  in  progress  under  the  supervision  of 
Col.  Thayer. 

It  appears  from  a  statement  furnished  by  Gen.  Totten, 
of  the  Engineer  Department,  that  Col.  Thayer's  estimate 
for  the  completion  of  the  works  at  this  place,  over  and 
above  the  sum  already  appropriated,  was  $32,700,  pro- 
vided the  work  could  go  on  continuously,  excepting  from 
the  interruption  of  winter.  If  there  should  be  another 
suspension  of  operations,  the  estimated  cost  would  be 
magnified  materially."!" 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1851,  a  communication  was 
addressed  to  the  Council,  by  the  Harbor  Master,  Mr. 
Tewksbury,  representing  that  an  immediate  necessity  ex- 
isted for  action  in  regard  to  Gallop's  Island,  on  the  pres- 

*  City  Document  33 — 1852.  t  See  page  74  of  the  Appendix. 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  25 

ervation  of  which  depended  the  existence  of  the  deep 
ship  channel  of  the  Narrows.  This  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Harbor,  and  it  appears  by  an  endorse- 
ment upon  it,  that  the  City  Solicitor  recommended  an 
application  to  the  General  Court  on  the  subject.  No  fur- 
ther action  was  taken,  however,  in  respect  to  this  very 
important  island. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  next  in  importance  to  the 
Great  Brewster,  for  the  preservation  of  our  Harbor,  are 
Long  Island  Head  and  Gallop's  Island.  Long  Island 
Head  presents  to  northeasterly  storms  a  precipitous  bank, 
rising  about  100  feet  above  high  water,  and  is,  through 
the  action  of  the  sea,  constantly  wasting  away.  Fully 
aware  of  the  importance  of  this  point,  and  desirous  of  pro- 
tecting it  by  a  sea  wall,  Col.  Thayer  has  several  times 
made  proposals,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, for  its  purchase,  but  its  owners  profess  to  receive  a 
considerable  income  from  the  sale  of  ballast  from  it,  and 
ask  for  the  headland  a  price  altogether  out  of  proportion 
to  its  value. 

Gallop's  Island,  situated  upon  one  side  of  the  main 
ship-channel  of  the  Narrows,  although  it  does  not  present 
a  high  bank  or  headland  to  the  action  of  the  sea,  is,  from 
its  immediate  contiguity  to  the  channel,  of  the  greatest 
importance.  The  proprietor  of  this  island  has  for  many 
years  been  in  the  habit  of  selling  large  quantities  of  bal- 
last, which  has  been  taken  from  the  island  mostly  be- 
tween high  and  low  water  mark.  Such  removals  of  the 
hard  surface  or  shingle  have  exposed  to  the  action  of  a 
powerful  current  a  part  of  the  soil  which  is  more  easily 
affected  by  it,  and  a  spit  has  consequently  been  formed, 
and  is  gradually  making  out  towards  the  main  channel 
from  the  northeasterly  point  of  the  island.^     The  income 

*  For  a  particular  description  of  these  changes,  see  pages  21  and  22  of  the 
Appendix. 


26  BOSTON  HARBOE.  [Sept. 

derived  from  the  sale  of  ballast  has  induced  the  owner 
of  this  island  also  to  place  an  entirely  disproportionate 
value  upon  it.  The  language  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
the  case  of  the  Commonwealth  vs.  Tewksbury,  (Suffolk 
March  Term,  1846,)  shows  that  such  a  use  of  the  property 
may  be  prohibited  by  law  without  any  improper  infrac- 
tion of  private  rights.  "  Without  hazarding  an  opinion 
upon  any  other  question,  we  think  that  a  law  prohibiting 
an  owner  from  removing  the  soil  composing  a  natural 
embankment  to  a  valuable,  navigable  stream,  port  or  har- 
bor, is  not  such  a  taking,  such  an  interference  with  the 
right  and  title  of  the  owner,  as  to  give  him  a  constitu- 
tional right  to  compensation,  and  to  render  an  act  uncon- 
stitutional, which  makes  no  such  provision,  but  is  a  just 
restraint  of  an  injurious  use  of  the  property,  which  the 
Legislature  have  authority  to  make."^  In  the  opinion 
from  which  the  previous  extract  was  made,  in  the  case  of 
the  Commonwealth  vs.  Tewksbury,  the  Court  say,  with 
reference  to  the  Stat.  1845,  c.  11,  under  which  the  de- 
fendant had  been  indicted  for  removing  the  soil  from  his 
own  land — "  The  statute,  though  recent,  is  a  mere  revis- 
ion of  a  former  one,  St.  1796,  c.  73,  (2  Special  Laws, 
283.)  They  are  alike  in  substance  and  purpose,  and  the 
only  change  is,  in  substituting  an  indictment  for  a  qui 
tarn  action,  as  the  mode  of  prosecution.  The  object  of 
both  is  apparent,  and  is  a  very  important  one,  to  protect 
the  harbor  of  Boston,  by  preserving  the  integrity  of  the 
beaches  and  the  natural  embankments  of  sand  and  gravel 
by  which  it  is  bordered, "f 

It  appears,  however,  that  by  a  Statute  of  the  succeeding 

*  11  Metcalf  Eep.  55. 

tFrom  the  same  opinion,  we  make  the  following  quotation,  which  is  not  with- 
out interest,  viz  : — "  The  importance  of  such  natural  beaches,  in  a  public  point  of 
view,  may  be  estimated  by  the  case  of  Plymouth  Beach.  The  port  of  that  ancient 
town  was  protected  by  a  narrow  strip  of  land,  extending  in  front  of  it.  In  con- 
Sequence  of  cutting  away  the  wood  upon  it,  or  from  some  other  cause,  it  was 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  27 

year  (Stat.  1846,  c.  106,)  the  Statute  of  1845,  c.  117, 
was  repealed  as  to  a  part  of  Mr.  Tewksbury's  beaches  in 
Chelsea,  and  $500  were  ordered  to  be  paid  him  out  of 
the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth,  "  as  an  indemnity  for 
the  loss,  suffered  by  him  under  the  operation  of  said  act, 
by  reason  of  being  unnecessarily  debarred  from  the  use  of 
his  land,  for  the  purpose,  as  was  intended,  of  securing  the 
harbor  of  Boston." 

The  Committee  are  not  aware  of  the  reasons  which  in- 
duced such  a  course  on  the  part  of  the  Legislature  of 
1846,  and  have  thought  it  not  impossible  that  the  fact 
was  not  brought  to  their  notice  that  the  law  of  1845  was 
not  new,  except  in  the  form  of  its  sanction.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  only  way  in  which  Mr.  Tewksbury's  rights  were 
affected  by  that  law,  was  that  that  made  it  the  duty  of 
the  public  officers  to  take  cognizance  of  proceedings 
which  had  been  unlawful  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and 
which  had  perhaps  been  allowed  to  go  on  with  impunity, 
merely  because  the  mode  of  punishing  them  was  pecu- 
liarly odious. 

In  this  connection,  the  committee  think  it  not  entirely 
useless  to  refer  to  the  Act  of  June  12th,  1818 — (Mass. 
Special  Laws,  Yol.  5,  p.  254) — entitled  "  An  Act  for  the 
preservation  of  Bird  Island  in  Boston  Harbor."  This  act 
provides  that  no  earth  or  stones  shall  be  taken  from  Bird 
Island  without  license  first  obtained  from  the  Selectmen 
of  Boston,  in  writing,  specifying  the  quantity  to  be  re- 
•  moved,  and  the  object  of  removing  it.  Every  person  who 
without  permission  obtained  as  aforesaid,  shall  remove 
any  earth  or  stones  from  such  island,  shall  forfeit  and  pay, 
for  each  offence,  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  to  the  use  of 

washed  away  and  broken  through  by  the  wind  and  sea,  and  the  navigation  was  in 
danger  of  being  wholly  destroyed.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  public,  the 
government  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  this  Commonwealth,  took  measures, 
at  great  expense,  to  restore  the  beach,  by  artificial  means,  to  its  original  condi- 
tion." 


28  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

said  town.  An  act  somewhat  similar  was  passed,  March 
31st,  1834.  (Mass.  Special  Laws,  Yol.  7,  Chap.  168,)  en- 
titled "  An  Act  concerning  the  Islands  and  Beaches  in 
the  Harbor  of  Boston."  This  Act  provides  "  that  if  any 
person  shall  wilfully  carry  away  from  any  island  in  the 
harbor  of  Boston,  or  from  any  beach  adjacent  thereto, 
any  earth,  gravel,  stone  or  other  materials  composing  such 
island  of  beach,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  thereof, 
the  person  or  persons  so  offending  shall  forfeit  and  pay 
for  each  offence,  to  the. use  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  sum 
not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars  nor  less  than  five  dol- 
lars," "  provided  that  this  act  shall  not  be  construed  to 
prevent  the  taking  of  shell-fish  from  such  islands  and 
beaches."  Section  2  of  the  same  act  imposes  a  like  for- 
feiture for  building  a  fire  on  Spectacle  Island  in  the  har- 
bor, without  the  consent  of  the  owner  or  owners  thereof. 

In  the  course  of  the  investigations  which  they  have 
found  necessary  for  the  preparation  of  their  report,  the 
attention  of  the  Committee  has  been  frequently  drawn  to 
the  great  extent  of  the  researches  of  scientific  men  into 
the  modes  of  preserving  or  improving  water  courses  and 
harbors.     The  annals  of  the  various  scientific  societies  of 
England  and  the  Continent  of  Europe  are  replete  with 
valuable  information  derived  from  a  vast  amount  of  study 
and  experiment,  persevered  in  through  long  periods  of 
years,  and  by  the  ablest  engineers, — which  alone  could 
have  enabled  them  to  carry  on  or  complete  the  great 
works  now  finished  or  in  progress.     Some  of  these  works 
have  been  the  means  of  opening  to  a  thriving  and  exten- 
sive commerce,  ports  which  were   previously  accessible 
only  to  the  smallest  vessels,  or  of  preserving  valuable  har- 
bors from  impending  destruction,  and  have  thus  shown 
that  it  is  permitted  to  man,  by  the  exercise  of  his  intel- 
lect and  the  exertion  of  his  mechanical  skill,  to  regulate 
and  control  the  wildest  and  most  powerful  agencies  of 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT.— No  60.  29 

physical  nature.  Desirous  of  placing  before  the  City 
Council  a  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  science  of 
Hydrography,  the  committee  requested  James  Hay  ward, 
Esq.  to  prepare  a  communication  on  the  subject,  which 
was  kindly  furnished  by  him,  and  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix,  page  65.  The  attention  paid  by  Mr.  Hay- 
ward  to  this  branch  of  his  profession,  and  the  great  op- 
portunities he  has  enjoyed  of  personally  examining  the 
best  illustrations  of  it  to  be  found  in  Europe  and  this 
country,  render  his  communication  highly  valuable. 

The  Light  House  Board  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  under  authority  of  the  Appropriation  Act 
of  March  3d.  1851, — and  which  was  composed  of  Officers 
of  the  Navy  and  Engineers  eminent  for  their  scientific 
attainments. — in  their  report  to  the  Secretary,  dated 
January  20th,  1852, — after  discussing  the  subject  of 
Light  Houses  at  length,  and  the  best  modes  of  building 
and  maintaining  them  adopted  in  Europe  and  in  this  coun- 
try, consider  the  subject  of  buoys  and  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  intended  in  an  elaborate  and  interesting 
manner. 

The  remarks  of  the  Board  upon  Boston  Light  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix,  page  79. 

The  committee  have  had  frequent  conferences  with 
several  of  the  most  experienced  pilots  in  the  city,  and 
have  found  them  uniformly  disposed  to  afford  the  com- 
mittee every  facility,  and  communicate  to  them  all  the 
information  in  their  power.  They  have  received  also  a 
written  communication  from  Mr.  Gurney,  which  is  in- 
serted in  the  Appendix,  page  77,  and  will  be  found 
interesting. 

The  committee  having  thus,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan 
stated  in  the  outset,  presented  a  brief  statement  of  all 
the  important  historical  facts  bearing  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Harbor,  which  a  careful  investigation  has  disclosed  to 


30  .  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

them ;  and  having  stated  the  result  of  examinations  made 
under  their  direction,  which  have  required  no  inconsider- 
able amount  of  labor  and  time ;  they  here  take  occasion 
to  say,  that  in  collecting  the  materials  for  their  report, 
they  have  been  more  and  more  deeply  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  the  subject,  the  paucity  of  information 
in  regard  to  it,  and  the  necessity  of  early  and  efficient 
action  upon  it,  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council. 

It  is  obvious  from  what  has  been  said,  that  no  actual 
control  over  the  flats,  water-ways  or  channels  of  the  har- 
bor is  legally  vested  in  the  City  of  Boston.  Nothing 
therefore  can  be  done  in  the  matter  but  through  the  ac- 
tion of  the  State  and  National  Governments ;  except, 
indeed,  that  the  City  can  become  by  purchase  the  owner 
of  certain  islands  and  headlands  before  mentioned  as 
being  of  great  value  for  the  preservation  of  the  harbor. 
Future  City  Councils  must  be  the  judges  as  to  the  expe- 
diency of  such  purchases.  There  is  ample  precedent  for 
such  expenditure ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  City 
Government  will  avail  itself  of  favorable  opportunities, 
which  will  probably  occur,  to  obtain  a  title  to  those  strong, 
though  perishable,  harbor  defences.  Such  an  ownership 
will  not  only  give  to  the  City  the  sole  use  and  manage- 
ment of  these  places,  but  may  lead  to  an  arrangement 
with  the  United  States  Government,  by  which  the  system 
of  erecting  sea  walls,  already  proved  to  be  so  beneficial, 
shall  be  continued  and  completed. 

With  regard  to  any  action  which  may  be  had,  as  above 
suggested,  through  the  State  or  National  Governments,  it 
is  to  be  observed  that  the  subject  in  contemplation  is 
very  complicated ;  demanding  a  large  application  of  sci- 
entific principles,  with  an  ample  basis  of  practical  obser- 
vation. The  committee  feel  assured  that  no  man  or  body 
of  men  could,  with  the  present  data  only,  construct  a 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  31 

plan  of  proceeding  which  should  embrace  all  the  condi- 
tions and  anticipate  all  the  difficulties  of  the  question. 

The  risk  of  failing  to  achieve  the  best  mode  of  remedy 
is  involved  with  another  even  more  serious, — that  of  mak- 
ing worse  the  present  condition  of  the  harbor.  Every 
island  and  point  of  land, — indeed,  every  obstruction  in 
the  harbor,  natural  or  artificial,  communicating,  through 
the  common  medium  of  the  water,  with  all  the  others, 
affects  and  is  affected  by  their  condition,  while  the  water 
reciprocally  suffers  a  variation  in  all  its  currents  by  a 
change  in  any  of  the  solids  which  it  surrounds.  Every 
dilapidation  of  an  island  is  the  beginning  of  a  shoal,  and 
a  power  added  to  encroachment  in  some  new  direction. 
These  facts  suggest  the  difficulty  of  the  problem  which  is 
to  be  solved,  in  securing  the  harbor  from  further  injurious 
change. 

No  subject  can  come  before  the  City  Council,  upon 
which  a  greater  diversity  of  opinion  exists,  or  in  relation 
to  which  more  numerous  and  adverse  interests  are  repre- 
sented, than  that  of  the  changes  in  the  inner  harbor,  for 
which  petitions  are  presented  at  every  meeting  of  the 
State  Legislature. 

Scientific  men  do  not  always  agree  as  to  the  effect  of 
contemplated  changes,  nor  as  to  the  influence  of  various 
methods  of  obtaining  compensating  supplies  of  water. 
Successive  Boards  of  Commissioners,  by  the  difference  of 
opinion  expressed  in  their  reports,  have  convinced  the 
public  of  the  intrinsic  difficulty  of  the  subject ;  and  from 
parties  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  local  improve- 
ments, we  have  every  possible  reason  urged  that  the 
ingenuity  of  individual  interest  can  suggest. 

It  is,  however,  agreed  upon  all  hands,  that  Boston  has 
no  interest  paramount  to  that  of  her  harbor.  Upon  its 
preservation  depends  her  commercial  prosperity.  -If 
through  neglect  .or  misfortune,  it  shall  ever  become  insuf- 


32  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

ficient  to  accommodate  the  largest  vessels  employed  in 
commerce,  from  that  moment  her  decline  will  commence. 
And  it  will  not  readily  be  believed  that  a  city  which  has 
always  displayed  so  much  sagacity  to  discern  and  ener- 
gy to  pursue  her  true  interests,  will  have  failed  to  in- 
form herself  upon  a  point  so  vital  as  this  to  her  well- 
being.  The  best  and  most  accurate  information,  and  the 
soundest  opinions  respecting  the  harbor,  will,  on  the  con- 
trary, always  be  expected  of  the  City  in  her  corporate 
capacity.  Her  opinion  will  be  respected,  and  her  influ- 
ence felt  in  the  commencement,  and  during  the  progress 
of  any  action  on  the  part  of  the  Governments  of  the 
State  or  the  United  States,  in  regard  to  the  harbor. 

The  City,  therefore,  is  bound  to  place  herself  in  a  po- 
sition to  supply  the  best  and  most  comprehensive  infor- 
mation possible  with  regard  to  the  actual  changes  in  the 
outer  as  well  as  the  inner  harbor.  The  formation  of  the 
Harbor  Committee,  a  Standing  Committee  of  the  City 
Council,  was  one  step  towards  this  desirable  end,  but  with 
the  liability  to  an  entire  change  of  its  members  annually, 
and  with  the  limited  means  now  at  their  disposal,  con- 
sistent progressive  action  on  their  part  is  extremely  diffi- 
cult if  not  impossible.  It  is  to  be  considered  that  the  ex- 
perience of  one  Committee  does  not  descend  to  their  suc- 
cessors, and  that  a  considerable  time  may  be  required  for 
each  successive  committee  to  apprehend  even  the  ele- 
ments of  the  subject. 

In  entering  upon  the  duties  of  their  office,  each  com- 
mittee should  find  in  the  archives  of  the  City  the  means 
of  availing  themselves  readily  of  the  experience  of  their 
predecessors  and  seeing  at  a  glance  the  existing  condition 
of  the  harbor,  and  the  nature  of  the  changes  to  which  it 
is  subject,  and  of  the  plans  proposed  for  its  improvement. 
To  obtain  the  knowledge  required  to  deal  properly  with 
this  question,  to  discover  when  and  where  proposed  alter- 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  33 

ations  would  be  injurious  or  beneficial,  or  how  to  frame  a 
petition  to  either  Grovernment  for  aid,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  adopt  a  system  of  observation,  to  be  continued  for 
a  series  of  years,  and  until  a  sufficient  collection  of  facts 
shall  have  been  made  to  form  the  basis  of  a  correct  opin- 
ion. It  is  only  by  a  course  of  continuous  observations, 
that  we  can  hope  to  mature  a  system  that  shall  effectu- 
ally preserve  the  harbor. 

The  committee,  therefore,  respectfully  recommend  the 
immediate  adoption  of  measures  to  secure  a  careful  obser- 
vation of  the  harbor  and  the  changes  going  on  within  it, 
and  an  investigation  of  the  causes  of  such  changes,  under 
the  direction  of  the  City  Engineer,  who  shall  be  required 
to  make  an  annual  report  thereon. 

Accurate  surveys  of  the  islands  and  headlands  should 
be  made  yearly,  and  the  results  delineated  on  plans 
drawn  upon  a  large  scale,  so  as  to  show  the  comparative 
abrasions  of  their  soil,  one  season  with  another,  and  direct 
attention  to  the  points  most  seriously  affected  by  the 
action  of  the  sea.  By  this  means  also  the  formation  of 
shoals  and  spits,  and  the  changes  of  current  injurious  to 
the  main  channels  of  the  harbor,  would  be  accurately 
known  and  defined. 

Soundings  should  be  accurately  made  in  certain  lines, 
at  stated  intervals,  atid  their  results  recorded  in  a  perma- 
nent form.  It  has  been  found  that  the  preliminary 
arrangements  necessary  to  locate  these  lines  involve  the 
chief  part  of  the  expense  attending  such  examinations. 
Permanent  monuments  can  be  erected,  which  will  enable 
the  engineers  to  trace  the  most  important  of  the  lines 
without  new  instrumental  observations,  and  the  expense 
would  then  be  comparatively  inconsiderable. 

The  publication  of  the  reports  above-referred-to  would 
inform  the  citizens  generally  upon  a  subject  in  which  all 


U  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

are  interested,  and  would  probably  exercise  an  influence 
on  the  public  mind  strong  enough  to  overrule  the  efforts 
of  private  speculation,  when  they  are  opposed  to  the  pub- 
lic interest. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  resolves  of  the  City 
Council,  passed  November  24th,  1823,  (Appendix  page 
72,)  that  a  very  similar  project  was  then  entertained  by 
the  City  Government.  If  the  surveys  then  authorized 
had  been  made,  and  had  been  continued  during  the  thirty 
years  that  have  since  elapsed,  there  would  probably  be 
now  sufficient  information  upon  the  subject  of  harbor 
changes. 

In  the  mean  time,  although  the  proprietors  of  certain 
islands  may  have  rendered  themselves  liable  to  indict- 
ment by  such  use  of  the  property  as  has  been  injurious 
to  the  public,  yet  as  they  probably  proceeded  under  a. 
misapprehension  of  their  rights,  and  as  it  is  desirable 
that  all  parties  interested  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
be  heard  in  defence  of  their  rights,  the  committee  recom- 
mend the  presentment  of  a  petition  to  the  General  Court, 
setting  forth  the  present  state  of  facts,  and  praying  for 
the  enactment  of  a  law  to  prohibit  the  owners  or  other 
persons  from  taking  stone,  sand  or  gravel  for  ballast  or 
other  purposes  from  any  of  the  islands,  headlands,  beach- 
es or  shores,  within  or  surrounding*  the  harbor. 

The  recent  examinations,  made  at  the  request  of  the 
committee,  have  disclosed  many  encroachments  upon  the 
harbor,  beyond  the  lines  established  by  law  as  the  limits 
of  any  structure  whatever.  This  indicates  an  urgent  de- 
mand for  permanent,  visible  monuments  defining  the 
limits  alluded  to.  Any  future  encroachments  would  thus 
be  matters  of  entire  publicity,  and  trespassers  would  be 
at  once  detected,  if  the  law  and  a  sense  of  right  were  not 
sufficient  to  prevent  any  attempt  to  invade  the  public 
interests. 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  35 

A  request  for  an  appropriation,  to  defray  the  expense 
of  establishing  such  monuments,  might  well  be  included 
in  the  before-mentioned  petition  for  a  protective  law. 

The  Attorney  of  the  Commonwealth,  for  this  District, 
has  been  directed  to  prosecute  all  cases  of  encroachment 
under  the  acts  establishing  the  lines  of  the  harbor.  But 
to  enable  him  to  do  this,  those  cases  must  be  brought 
to  his  notice.  On  the  16th  of  April,  1846,^  a  commission 
was  appointed  to  report  the  facts  in  all  cases  of  viola- 
tion of  these  acts,  but  such  a  mode  of  proceeding  neces- 
sarily causes  delay;  and  the  committee  would  recom- 
mend that  the  City  Solicitor  be  directed  to  take  the 
proper  measures  to  set  on  foot  prosecutions  against  those 
who  have,  as  appears  by  the  statement  of  the  City  Engi- 
neer, encroached  upon  the  harbor  lines. 

Besides  the  encroachments  upon  the  waters  of  the 
Harbor,  caused  by  the  extension  of  wharves  beyond  the 
Commissioners'  lines,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  report  of  the 
City  Engineer,  that  in  several  instances  at  East  Boston 
it  has  been  found  that  proprietors  have  extended  the 
solid  structure  of  their  wharves  beyond  the  limits  author- 
ized by  the  most  liberal  construction  of  the  law. 

In  all  acts  granting  permission  for  such  extensions, 
the  following  clause  has  been  inserted,  viz :  "provided, 
also,  that  so  much  of  said  wharf  as  may  be  constructed 
below  said  low  water  mark  shall  be  built  on  piles, 
which  piles  shall  not  be  nearer  to  each  other  than  six 
feet  in  the  direction  of  the  stream,  and  eight  feet  in  a 
tranverse  direction." 

It  is  evident  that  solid  structures  must  have  a  more 
powerful  effect  in  changing  the  direction  of  the  channels 
than  wharves  upon  piles,  and  if  the  judicious  restrictions 
of  the  acts  have  not  been  complied  with,  the  parties 
transgressing  must  of  course  be  viewed  as  trespassers,  and 

*See  Appendix,  page  15. 


36  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

if  properly  presented,  would  no  doubt  be  prosecuted  by 
the  District  Attorney. 

It  appears,  by  the  map  accompanying  this  report,  that 
the  harbor  lines  are  still  incomplete.  The  petition  to 
the  General  Court,  before-mentioned,  should  contain  a 
prayer  for  the  establishment  of  such  lines  around  the 
South  Bay  and  in  Mystic  River,  as  may,  upon  examina- 
tion, be  found  necessary  to  preserve  the  water  capacity  of 
those  reservoirs.  And  it  should  be  urged  upon  the  Legis- 
lature, that  all  future  grants  for  improvements  in  the  har- 
bor should  be  made  upon  the  express  condition,  that  the 
compensating  supplies  of  water,  so  essential  to  the  con- 
tinuance and  preservation  of  the  channels,  shall  be  ade- 
quately provided  by  the  grantees,  under  the  direction  of 
one  or  more  public  officers. 

The  committee  further  recommend  that  a  memorial  to 
the  General  Government  be  prepared,  stating  the  urgent 
necessity  of  an  appropriation  for  the  completion  of  the 
sea  wall  around  the  Great  Brewster  Island,  and  for  the 
erection  of  a  similar  wall  to  protect  Long  Island  Head. 

The  Committee  cannot  close  this  report  without  ex- 
pressing their  obligations  to  Col.  Thayer  for  the  facilities 
given  by  him  for  an  examination  of  the  present  state  of 
the  government  works  in  the  harbor,  and  for  valuable 
information  upon  the  subject  generally.  They  have  also 
been  much  indebted  to  James  Hayward,  Esq.  and  to  E. 
S.  Chesbrough,  Esq.,  City  Engineer,  for  valuable  scientific 
information  ;  and  to  C.  W.  Story,  Esq.,  for  efficient  aid  in 
the  collection  of  legislative  and  legal  authorities. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 
For  the  Committee, 

E.  H.  ELDREDGE. 


EEPORT  OE  THE  CITY  ENGINEER. 


38  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept 


BosTONj  July  8,  1852. 
E.  S.  Chesbrough,  Esq., 

City  Engineer: 

Dear  Sir, — I  am  authorized  by  the  Standing  Committee 
on  the  Harbor  to  request  you  to  prepare,  for  the  use  of 
the  City  Council,  a  plan  showing  all  the  Commissioners' 
Lines  established  by  Legislative  enactment  in  and  above- 
the  Inner  Harbor  of  Boston,  with  the  present  limits  and 
boundaries  of  wharves  and  other  improvements  encroach- 
ing upon  the  waters  of  the  Harbor ;  to  report  the  nature 
of  the  structures,  together  with  such  other  scientific  infor- 
mation as  you  may  be  able  to  collect,  in  reference  to  the 
effect  of  said  improvements  upon  the  currents  and  chan- 
nels of  the  harbor ;  and  to  cause  soundings  to  be  made,, 
which  shall  show  the  depth  of  water  at  low  tide  in  the 
most  important  parts  of  the  harbor. 

Also  to  report  to  the  Committee  a  proper  system  of 
fixed  boundaries  or  monuments,  by  which  the  Commis- 
ioners'  lines  may  be  easily  ascertained  and  defined  be- 
yond any  probable  contingency. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  &c. 

E.  H.  ELDREDGE. 


1853.]        CITY  DOCUMENT.—No.  60„  39 


City  Engineer's  Office, 

Boston,  August  lUh,  1853. 

Sir, — In  accordance  witli  your  instructions  of  July  8, 
1852,  the  accompanying  map  of  the  Harbor,  plan  of  the 
Great  Brewster,  and  sections  of  soundings,  have  been  pre- 
pared. 

In  consequence  of  the  large  amount  of  other  work  call- 
ed for  by  the  city,  it  was  impossible  to  make  the  necessary 
examinations  and  present  the  map  and  plans  at  an  earlier 
day ;  it  having  been  understood,  from  the  commencement, 
that  the  amount  appropriated  for  the  purpose  would  not 
justify  the  employment  of  a  large  or  expensive  extra 
force. 

The  Harbor  Commissioners'  lines  have  been  laid  down 
on  the  map  according  to  the  description  of  them  in  the 
city  ordinances.  It  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  ordi- 
nances, that  these  lines  have  been  established  by  diifer- 
•ent  commissions,  and  at  different  times,  and  that  they  are 
still  incomplete,  especially  around  the  southern  portion  of 
the  South  Bay  and  in  the  Mystic  River. 

The  letters  at  the  principal  angular  points  on  the  Har- 
bor Commissioners'  lines,  laid  down  on  the  plan,  indicate 
the  names  of  wharves  and  other  localities  where  the  an- 
gular points  are,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  table  of  refer- 
ences ;  and  the  dates  show  the  years  in  which  the  lines 
were  established  by  legislative  authority,  as  will  be  seen 
by  referring  to  the  city  ordinances,  except  for  the  lines 
on  the  Charlestown  side  of  Mystic  River,  and  for  those 
on  the  South  Boston  flats  towards  the  main  channel, 
which  have  been  established  since  the  publication  of  the 
city  ordinances. 


40  BOSTON  HAUBOR.  [Sept. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  map,  advantage  has  been 
taken  of  every  known  reliable  source  of  information,  but 
the  principal  basis  has  been  the  United  States  Coast  Sur- 
vey. As  this,  however,  was  made  six  years  ago,  it  did 
not  include  many  improvements  and  changes  made  since. 
Many  of  these  have  been  obtained  from  the  plan  of 
the  East  Boston  Company's  lands,  and  from  the  plans  of 
individuals  and  corporations,  kindly  loaned  for  the  pur- 
pose. In  some  instances  it  has  been  necessary  to  re-sur- 
vey wharves  that  have  recently  been  altered,  particularly 
between  the  Battery  wharf  and  Gray's  wharf  at  the 
North  End,  between  Wales's  wharf  and  the  Old  South 
Boston  Bridge  on  Fore  Point  Channel,  and  between 
Craigie's  and  the  Cambridge  Bridges  on  the  west  side  of 
the  city.  The  intention  has  been  to  show  all  the  wharves 
and  other  structures  on  the  harbor  as  they  exist  at  the 
present  time,  and  it  is  believed  that  this  object  has  been 
very  nearly  if  not  fully  attained,  at  least  as  far  as  it 
could  have  been  done  without  making  expenditures  not 
justified  by  the  appropriation. 

The  following  encroachments  upon  the  harbor  have 
been  made  beyond  the  Commissioners'  lines : — 

Amory's  Wharf  Face  is  43^  feet  outside  the  line.  It 
was  supposed  to  be  pressed  out  by  the  filling,  and  there- 
fore not  insisted  on  as  an  encroachment.  Mentioned  in 
report  on  encroachments  by  Messrs.  Bell  and  Lincoln  in 
1847. 

Tileston's,  Prentice's,  Liverpool  and  Packard's  Wharves, 
and  Pearson's  Dry  Dock,  reported  by  Messrs.  Bell  and 
Lincoln  as  over  the  Line  in  1847,  are  within  the  new  line 
established  in  1850. 

Burchsted  &  Leavitt's  Dry  Dock  (next  north  of  Otis's 
wharf).     Both  Piers  are  S}4  feet  over. 

Foster's  North  Wharf     Face  is  2  feet  over. 

Battery  Wharf  North  corner  of  projecting  part  of  face 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  41 

is  11/^  feet  over.  South  corner  of  do.  is  1)4  feet  over. 
Resting  on  piles.     Extended  in  1849. 

North  Battery  Wharf.  Face  is  parallel  to  line  and  11 
feet  over.     Extended  in  1849.    On  piles. 

Constitution  Wharf.  North  corner  of  face  is  19  feet 
over.  The  angle  in  the  face  is  24  feet  over.  South  cor- 
ner is  11/^  feet  over.     On  piles.     Extended  in  1837. 

Aspinwall's  Spar  Yard  (next  south  of  Chelsea  Ferry 
Slip).  North  end  is  7  feet  over.  Angle  in  face  is  12 
feet  over.  South  end  is  13  feet  over.  Hests  on  piles. 
Extended  in  1837. 

Harris's  South  Wharf  (next  north  of  Chelsea  Ferry). 
Northeast  corner  is  6  feet  over.  Southeast  corner  is  1/4 
feet  over.    On  piles.    Extended  in  1849. 

Hichards's  Wharf  (now  Harris's  north  wharf).  North- 
west corner  is  7  feet  out.  Southeast  corner  3  feet  out. 
At  8  feet  from  the  southeast  corner  the  angle  of  the 
Commissioners'  lines  is  on  the  face.  On  piles.  Extended 
in  1849. 

Fiske's  Wharf.  Face  is  parallel  to  line  and  6  feet 
over.     Extended  in  1837.     On  piles. 

Comey's  Wharf.  Northwest  corner  is  3  feet  over. 
Southeast  corner  is  2  feet  over.  On  piles.  Extended  in 
1833  and  '34. 

Bartlett's  South  W^harf  (adjoining  Gray's)  is  7  feet 
over.  On  piles.  Meationed  by  Messrs.  Bell  and  Lincoln. 
Extended  about  1840. 

Bartlett's  North  Wharf  (Davis's  wharf).  North  corner 
is  25  feet  over.  South  corner  16  feet  over.  On  piles. 
Extended  about  1840.  -  Mentioned  by  Messrs.  Bell  and 
Lincoln. 

Ingersoll's  Wharf  (between  Vinal's  and  Chamberlin's). 
On  piles.  8  feet  over.  Mentioned  by  Messrs.  Bell  and 
Lincoln.     Extended  in  1837. 


42  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 

Spaulding's  Wharf  (at  foot  of  Poplar  street).  Solid 
structure.  North  corner  is  12  feet  over  ;  the  south  cor- 
ner is  15  feet  over.     Already  a  subject  of  litigation. 

Taylor's  Wharf  (at  foot  of  Poplar  street).  Solid  struc- 
ture. North  corner  is  40  feet  over ;  the  south  corner  is 
27  feet  over.     Already  a  subject  of  litigation. 

Hoppin's  Wharf  (at  the  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  Charles 
street).  North  corner  is  5  feet  over ;  south  corner  is  4/i 
feet  over.     Solid.     Extended  in  1 848  and  '49. 

What  effect,  if  any,  these  structures  have  had  in 
changing  the  direction  of  currents  and  altering  the  shape 
of  the  channels,  beyond  what  would  have  taken  place  if 
there  had  been  a  strict  adherence  to  the  laws  relating  to 
the  Harbor  Commissioners'  lines,  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  up  to  this  time 
they  have  not  caused  much  injury  to  the  harbor.  This 
should  not,  however,  be  considered  as  any  excuse  for  un- 
lawful encroachments. 

At  East  Boston,  Kelly  &  Holmes's  wharf  extends  about 
16  feet,  and  Cunningham's  wharf  about  2  feet,  on  piles, 
beyond  the  Harbor  Commissioners'  lines. 

The  case  of  Alger's  wharf  and  the  Boston  wharf,  at 
South  Boston,  are  already  known  as  having  been  the  sub- 
jects of  judicial  and  legislative  proceedings. 

At  East  Boston,  Jones's,  Clifton's,  Weeks's,  Cunning- 
ham's, Tufts's,  the  East  Boston,  the  Atlantic  Steamship 
Co.'s,  and  the  Grand  Junction  Railroad  wharves  have 
been  extended  by  special  acts  of  the  Legislature,  which 
provide  that  no  solid  structures  shall  be  built  "below 
low  water  mark."  If  the  low  water  level  adopted  on 
the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  which  is  that  of  the  low- 
est spring  tides  observed,  or  16.8  feet  below  the  coping 
of  the  Dry  Dock  at  Charlestown,  be  considered  as  the 
one  intended  by  the  Legislature,  and  if  the  chart  of  the 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  43 

Harbor  prepared  for  the  Legislature  in  1837,  by  Messrs. 
Baldwin,  Thayer  and  Hay  ward,  which  is  the  best  known 
authority  on  the  subject,  be  adopted  as  settling  where  the 
16.8  feet  line  should  be,  then  the  solid  portions  of  the 
above  mentioned  wharves  have  been  extended  considera- 
bly beyond  their  lawful  limits ;  in  some  instances  as 
much  as  two  hundred  feet.  If  mean  low  water  level,  as 
determined  by  the  Coast  Survey,  or  15  feet  below  the 
coping  of  the  Charlestown  Dry  Dock,  be  considered  as 
the  limit  intended  by  the  Legislature,  then  some  of  these 
solid  structures  extend  as  much  as  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  beyond  their  lawful  limits. 

The  lines  of  16.8  and  15  feet  below  the  coping  of  the 
Charlestown  Dry  Dock,  and  the  solid  portions  of  the 
wharves,  in  front  of  East  Boston,  will  be  found  indicated 
on  the  map.  How  great  the  influence  of  these  encroach- 
ments upon  the  currents  of  the  harbor  has  been,  it  is  im- 
possible to  determine ;  but  that  it  has  been  considerable  is 
very  probable.  No  structures  that  have  been  erected 
during  the  last  fifteen  years  have  had  so  great  an  effect 
in  changing  the  direction  of  the  current  of  the  main 
channel,  as  the  East  Boston  wharves  have  had.  It  is 
a  source  of  much  regret  that  the  Harbor  Commissioners' 
lines  could  not  have  been  established  nearer  the  shore, 
around  the  point  at  the  west  end  of  Sumner  street,  than 
they  now  are. 

It  is  also  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  Legislature 
did  not  establish  the  line  of  low  water  mark  by  reference 
to  fixed  monuments,  as  the  level  intended  cannot  be  deter- 
mined by  any  of  the  acts  referred  to ;  and  if  it  could  be, 
there  would  be,  in  most  cases,  some  dif&culty  in  applying 
it ;  for  a  point  below  low  water  mark  this  year  may, 
owing  to  changes  that  are  constantly  taking  place  in  the 
harbor,  be  above  it  the  next,  and  vice  versa. 


44  BOSTON  HAEBOR.  [Sept, 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  encroachments  with 
solid  structures,  unlawfully  extended  helov7  low  water 
mark,  are  not  confined  to  East  Boston,  but  may  be  found 
around  the  northern  and  western  part  of  the  city  proper  ; 
and  the.  City's  own  wharf,  near  the  Charles  Biver  Bridge, 
is  probably  no  exception.  The  means  of  determining  the 
original  line  of  low  water  mark  around  the  city  proper, 
however,  are  not  so  satisfactory  as  in  the  case  of  East 
Boston,  as  no  authentic  record  of  soundings  made  around 
the  city  proper,  previous  to  the  building  of  most  of  the 
existing  wharves,  is  to  be  found. 

Soundings  have  been  made  on  a  number  of  lines  in  various 
parts  of  the  harbor.  As  any  attempt  to  mark  their  depths 
on  the  map,  so  as  to  compare  them  with  the  depths  of  pre- 
vious soundings,  would  cause  confasion,  the  lines  alone 
have  been  indicated  on  the  map,  while  the  soundings  have 
been  marked  on  the  sheet  of  sections,  together  with  those 
previously  made.  By  examining  them  carefully,  it  will 
be  seen  that  since  1835,  as  far  as  examinations  have  been 
made,  no  perceptible  diminution  in  the  depth  of  the  cen- 
tre of  the  main  channel  has  taken  place,  and  none  of  im- 
portance in  that  of  the  Fore  Point  channel. 

The  sides  of  the  channels,  however,  have  changed  in 
several  places,  being  generally  more  shallow  at  the  ends 
of  the  wharves  than  formerly ;  the  principal  exception 
being  along  the  narrowest  part  of  the  channel  between 
Boston  and  East  Boston,  where  there  is  greater  depth. 
From  two  to  six  feet  of  deposit  has  been  made  at  the 
ends  of  the  wharves  on  Fore  Point  channel,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  considerable  expense  is  incurred  below  the 
Ferry  wharf,  on  the  East  Boston  side,  in  maintaining  a 
sufficient  depth  of  water. 

The  greatest  observed  change  in  any  part  of  the  har- 
bor is  that  at  the  head  of  Governor's  Island.  As  com- 
pared with  the  soundings  of  1847,  tliosc  of  1842  show  a 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No  60.  45 

deposit  there  of  at  least  8  feet  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
This  appeared  so  astonishing,  that  some  error  in  the  last 
soundings  was  suspected,  but  other  soundings,  made  this 
year,  by  a  different  assistant,  on  a  line  crossing  the  others, 
confirm  those  of  1852.     (See  Sections  U  and  Y). 

So  remarkable  a  change  in  less  than  six  years  appears 
totally  unaccountable,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  some 
undiscovered  error  will  yet  explain  it. 

The  shallowest  part  of  the  main  channel,  as  indicated 
on  the  Map  of  the  Coast  Survey,  is  just  above  the  Upper 
Middle.  (See  Section  U).  An  examination  of  this  will 
show  that  no  diminution  in  the  depth  of  the  centre  of  the 
channel  has  taken  place  since  1847 ;  the  section  referred 
to  makes  it  a  little  greater,  but  there  has  probably  been 
no  change.  The  apparent  difference  on  this,  as  well  as 
on  the  other  sections,  is  owing  to  the  difficulty  there  was 
in  making  the  soundings  to  within  a  foot,  and  in  taking 
them  at  points  identical  with  those  of  1847. 

The  bottom  at  this  most  important  part  of  the  main 
channel  being  gravelly,  and  so  hard  that  an  iron  rod 
could  not  be  made  to  penetrate  it  more  than  an  inch  or 
two,  shows  that  there  can  scarcely  be  any  doubt  that  the 
water  is  quite  as  deep  there  now  as  it  has  ever  been 
since  the  first  vessel  sailed  into  the  harbor. 

It  is  very  evident,  however,  that  the  width  of  the 
main  channel  is  less  than  it  was  formerly,  as  extensive 
deposits  are  made  on  its  sides,  where  the  current  is  much 
less  rapid  than  in  its  centre.  The  comparisons  made  by 
Lt.  Davis,  in  his  memoir  to  the  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  April  1st,  1851,  between  the  soundings  of  1817 
by  Com.  Wadsworth,  and  those  of  the  Coast  Survey  of 
1847,  make  this  very  clear. 

The  flats  are  not  only  extending  out,  generally,  but  they 
are  rising  higher  from  the  accumulated  deposits  upon  them. 
It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  rate  at  which  they  rise, 


46  BOSTON  HAKBOR.  [Sept. 

if  there  is  a  uniform  one ;  but  a  comparison  of  Des 
Barres'  chart  with  the  most  recent  soundings  shows  that 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  South  Boston  flats  has  risen 
from  four  to  six  feet  since  1764.  An  examination  of 
section  A  'shows  that  the  Charles  River  flats,  near  the 
West  Boston  Bridge,  have  risen  one  foot  since  1835. 

With  regard  to  a  system  of  fixed  boundaries  or  monu- 
ments, by  which  to  ascertain  and  define  the  Harbor 
Commissioners'  lines,  the  best  plan  would  be  to  survey 
with  care  the  wharves  which  are  on  the  angular  points  of 
the  Commissioners'  lines,  around  the  city  proper,  on 
the  southerly  side  of  Charlestown,  and  on  the  westerly 
side  of  South  Boston.  In  almost  every  case  there  are 
houses  and  streets  that  could  be  .made  to  serve  as  fixed 
monuments  of  reference.  All  around  East  Boston  the 
Harbor  Commissioners'  lines  are  so  carefully  described 
and  defined  with  reference  to  streets  and  established  lines 
of  lots,  that  it  will  always  be  possible  to  re-establish 
them,  if  every  wharf  in  that  part  of  the  City  should  be 
destroyed.  The  several  surveys  that  have  already  been 
made,  by  the  different  Boards  of  Harbor  Commissioners, 
by  the  United  States  ofiicers,  and  by  the  City  of  Boston, 
are  suflicient  to  show  approximately  where  the  harbor 
lines  have  been  located  by  the  Legislature  ;  but  in  some 
cases  it  would  be  difficult  to  detect  a  variation  of  ten 
feet,  owing  to  the  uncertainty  of  dimensions  obtained  by 
scale  from  plans.  Visible  monuments  on  the  wharves 
would  be  of  great  service,  in  assisting  those  who  may 
make  examinations  to  detect  encroachments  that  might 
otherwise  pass  unnoticed. 

By  your  verbal  directions  the  original  high  water  line 
has  been  traced  on  the  map,  as  accurately  as  the  sources 
of  information  obtainable  at  this  office  would  allow. 
Much  labor  and  research  were  expended,  in  order  to 
make  this  part  of  the  map  perfect;    but  it  is  greatly  to 


1853.]         CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  47 

be  regretted  that  the  authorities  relied  upon  do  not  agree 
very  closely  among  themselves.  The  greatest  cause  of 
doubt  is  owing  to  the  flatness  of  the  original  margin  of  a 
great  part  of  the  City,  in  consequence  of  which  the  differ- 
ences between  the  line  to  which  ordinary  high  water  and 
that  to  which  very  high  water  flowed  must  have  been 
considerable,  in  some  places  probably  three  or  four 
hundred  feet.  This  was  particularly  the  case  at  the  foot 
of  the  Common.  The  sources  relied  upon  are  the  plans 
found  in  Snow's  History,  and  Frothingham's  Siege  of 
Boston,  besides  those  of  Osgood  Carleton  and  S.  P.  Fuller. 
E.  S.  Rand,  Esq.,  has  also  furnished  some  valuable  infor- 
mation, relative  to  the  original  high  water  line  in  the 
western  part  of  the  City,  obtained  during  his  examination 
of  titles  to  estates  there. 

As  this  is  a  subject  of  general  interest  in  a  historical 
point  of  view,  would  it  not  be  advisable  to  induce  private 
individuals,  who  may  have  old  plans  or  deeds,  or  any 
other  kind  of  information,  that  w^ould  aid  in  correcting 
this  portion  of  the  map,  to  give  or  loan  them  to  the  city  ? 

An  examination  of  the  original  high  water  line,  as  laid 
down  on  the  map,  will  give  a  very  satisfactory  view  of 
the  diminution  of  water  area  that  has  taken  place  in  the 
harbor  since  the  first  settlement  of  the  city.  The  follow- 
ing approximate  estimates  of  original  and  present  areas 
have  been  prepared  to  show  this  diminution. 

Water  area  of  Boston  Inner  Harbor,  included  letiveen  the 
north  side  of  South  Boston  and  the  parallel  of  40°  20';  the 
meridian  marlted  0°  3'  east  of  the  State  House ;  the  shores 
of  East  Boston  and  Chelsea.,  and  the  bridge  beticcen  them ; 
zvith  the  bays  and  inlets  ivest  of  these  lines  ;  calculated  from 
measurements  by  scale  from  larger  plans. 

"Water  area  of  Ancient  Harbor  as  above 

defined,         _        _        _        _        _  7,228  acres. 


48 


BOSTON  HARBOK. 


[Sept. 


Area  of  filling  and  wharves  in  Boston,       493  acres. 
"         "  "         "      S.  Boston,         59      " 

"        "  "         "      E.Boston,         99      " 

«         "  "         "      Charlestown,      67      " 

"         "  "         "      E.  Cambridge,  46      " 

Boston  "Water  Power  Company's  Empty 
and  Full  Basins, 

Mill  Dam,       ----- 

Present  Water  Area  of  Inner  Harbor, 


591 
14 


1,369  acres. 


5,859 


Area  witbin   the   Commissioners'  Lines 

liable  to  be  filled,  on  S.  Boston  Flats,        533  acres. 
"         "  in  South  Bay,  66     " 

between  Mill  Dam  and 
the  Commissioners'  Lines,    27     " 


a 

on  West  Boston  Shore, 

15 

a 

u 

on  Cambridge  Shore  of 

Charles  River, 

280 

ii 

a 

E.  Cambridge,  in  Mil- 

ler's River, 

28 

a 

a 

East  Boston  Shore, 

153 

u 

a 

Chelsea, 

35 

"  1137  acres, 

Area  of  Boston  Inner  Harbor  outside  the 

Commissioners'  Lines,  as  far  as  estab- 
lished,    ------ 


4722 


The  area  of  Mystic  River  above  Chelsea 

Bridge  is  -        -        -        -        -838  acres. 

"         "  Charles    River     above 

Charles  River  Bridge,      1101     •' 
■  «         «  Miller's  River  &  Prison 

Bay,  219     " 

"         '•  South  Bay  above  South 

"         "  Boston  Bridge,  316     " 

«         «•  all  other  waters,  3385     ''  5859 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No.  60.  49 

The  accompanying  plan  of  the  Great  Brewster  shows 
a  most  remarkable  change  in  a  short  time  in  that  part  of 
the  Harbor,  and  proves  that  without  the  protection  the 
General  Government  is  now  giving  to  that  Island,  by  sea 
walls,  it  would  be  entirely  washed  away  in  a  few  years. 
Col.  Thayer  of  the  United  States'  Engineers,  Avho  has 
charge  of  all  the  government  works  in  the  Harbor,  and  who 
has  been  most  kind  and  courteous  towards  those  who  have 
visited  or  sought  information  relative  to  them,  states  that 
the  location  of  portions  of  the  wall  laid  down  on  the 
plan,  but  not  actually  built,  will  be  changed  somewhat. 
As  the  copies  of  the  plan  were  all  struck  off  before  this 
fact  was  known,  it  was  not  thought  necessary  to  have 
new  ones  printed ;  as  the  main  object  of  the  plan  was 
to  show  the  great  exposure  of  that  part  of  the  Harbor, 
to  rapid  and  important  changes. 

It  may  be  expected,  perhaps,  that  some  suggestions 
will  be  made  here  relative  to  the  future  extension  and 
alteration  of  the  Commissioners'  lines,  and  other  matters 
bearing  upon  the  preservation  and  improvement  of  the 
Harbor.  These  subjects  were  not  embraced  in  your 
instructions,  moreover  they  demand  the  close  investiga- 
tion of  commissioners  or  other  competent  persons  espe- 
cially appointed  for  the  purpose,  with  ample  time  and 
means  at  their  disposal.^  A  very  large  amount  of  such 
information,  of  a  very  interesting  nature,  has  already 
been  embodied  in  the  appendix  to  your  Report. 

The  importance  of  the  Harbor  to  the  commercial  pros- 
perity of  the  City  suggests  the  necessity  of  watching 
with  constant  care  the  changes  that  take  place  in  it, 
from  time  to  time,  from  whatever  cause.  For  these 
changes  can  only  be  detected  by  examination  of  the 
parts  of  the  Harbor  affected.     By  comparing  the  results 

*  See  note,  page  51. 


50  BOSTON  HARBOE.  [Sept. 

of  such  examinations  with  others  obtained  previously, 
information  of  great  importance  will  be  gained,  and  fu- 
ture changes  and  extensions  of  the  Commissioners'  lines 
may  be  made  with  much  greater  safety. 

I  have  been  principally  assisted  in  the  examinations 
made,  and  plans  prepared,  last  year  and  this,  by  Messrs. 
Joseph  Bennett,  S.  S.  Greele,  and  W.  H.  Bradley,  and 
have  received  much  aid  from  Mr.  George  P.  Tewksbury, 
late  Harbor  Master,  who  has  pointed  out  the  rock  north 
east  of  the  Great  Brewster,  and  mentions  that  there  are 
other  dangerous  rocks  not  to  be  found  on  any  chart  of 
the  Harbor,  but  known  to  the  pilots. 

I  would  also  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  for  valua- 
ble information  to  James  Hay  ward,  Simeon  Borden, 
R.  H.  Eddy,  William  P.  Parrott,  and  T.  &  J.  Doane, 
Esqs.;  and  to  Col.  Ezra  Lincoln,  for  so  long  a  use  of 
the  perfect  and  beautiful  chart  of  the  Harbor,  prepared 
for  the  State  of  Massachusetts  under  the  direction  of  the 
Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey.  I 
have  also  been  freely  allowed  to  borrow  or  copy  plans 
and  charts  in  the  custody  of  the  Librarians  of  the  State 
Library,  the  Boston  Athenseum,  and  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society.  The  copies  thus  obtained  will  be 
valuable  for  future  reference. 

Annexed  will  be  found  a  table  of  reference  for  ex- 
plaining the  letters  and  figures  on  the  map. 

Which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

E.  S.  CHESBROUGH, 

Ciiy  Engineer. 

To  E.  H.  Eldredge,  Esq., 

Of  the  Earlor  Committee  o/"  1852. 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT— No.  60.  51 


NOTE  . 

Since  the  foregoing  report  went  to  press  an  important  fact  has 
been  learned  with  regard  to  tlie  Harbor  of  Glasgow,  from  the  Civil 
Engineer  and  Architect's  Journal  for  October,  1853,  page  373.  In 
a  very  interesting  article  upon  the  Conservation  and  Impi'ovement 
of  Tidal  Rivei's,  by  Edward  Killwick  Calver,  R.  N.,  Admiralty  Sur- 
veyor, occurs  the  following :  "  Even  in  the  Clyde,  where  vessels 
have  been  got  up  to  Glasgow,  the  lower  river  has  suffered.  In  1768, 
where  there  was  12  feet  at  low  water,  the  general  depth  is  from  9 
to  10  feet,  and  in  several  places  it  is  reduced  to  6  feet,  or  one  half 
the  original  quantity."  The  object  of  calling  attention  to  this  fact  is 
to  show  the  impropriety  and  danger  of  adopting  plans  for  extensive 
changes  and  improvements  in  the  Harbor,  without  first  investigating 
most  thoroughly  everything  bearing  upon,  or  that  would  be  affected 
by,  them.  The  great  increase  in  the  depth  of  water  at  Glasgow  and 
the  consequent  benefit  to  its  commerce  by  the  improvements  which 
are  described  by  Mr.  Hayward  in  his  letter — (see  Appendix  page 
67) — and  which  Mr.  Calver  considers  the  cause  of  the  reduction  of 
depth  he  mentions,  has  been  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  greatest  tri- 
umphs of  modern  engineering.  The  Clyde,  it  may  be  said,  is  differ- 
ent from  the  Harbor  of  Boston ;  but  other  cases  different  from  these, 
and  differing  from  each  other,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  will  be 
found  mentioned  by  Mr.  Calver,  and  in  the  voluminous  reports  on 
Harbors  by  Committees  of  the  British  Parhament. 

This  opportunity  is  taken  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  valuable 
informa,tion  from  Capt.  E.  Barker,  and  Mr.  Billings,  Civil  Engi- 
neer at  the  Navy  Yard,  relative  to  the  original  high  water  line  around 
Charlestown.  Also  to  say  that  the  solid  portion  of  Jones's  Wharf 
which  is  said,  on  page  42,  to  extend  beyond  low  water  mark,  does  not 
encroach  beyond  its  lawful  limits. 

E.  S.  C. 

Nov.  19, 1853. 


52  BOSTON  HARBOR.  [Sept. 


Talle  of  Reference  for  the  letters  marking  the  Harbor 
Commissioners'  Lines. 


[The  numbers  of  the  pages  refer  to  the  City  Ordinances  published  in  1850, 
unless  otherwise  mentioned.] 


A     Point  on  the  westerly  side  of  channel  of  Roxbuiy  Creek, 
1000   feet   from  Harrison    Avenue,   opposite      South 
Burying  Ground,         -         -         -         -         -         -         165 

B     Point  1250  feet  from  South  Boston  Bridge, 

C     Heath's    Wharf,    afterwards     Miller's,    now    Evans     & 

Miller's, 158  &  165 

D     "Wright's  Wharf,  afterwards   the  first  wharf  of  the  South 

Cove  Co., 158 

E     Brown's  Wharf, 156 

F     Wright's  North  East  Wharf, 156 

G     Wales's  Wharf, 156 

H     Ai-ch  Wharf, 156 

I     Otis's  Wharf, 156 

K     Foster's  South  Wharf, 156 

L     Rowe's  Wharf, 156 

M    Long  Wharf, 156 

N     Union  Wharf,  .-.--..         156 

O     Battery  Wharf, 156 

P     Constitution  Wharf, 156 

Q     Richards's  Wharf, -         156 

R     Gray's  Wharf,         -         - 157 

S      Vmal'sWliarf,         .......         157 

T     Brown's  Wharf,       - 157 

U     Trull's  Wharf, 157 

V  South  abutment  of  Warren  Bridge,  -  -  -  157 
W    Northern  angle  of  solid  part  of  Boston  and  Lowell  R.  R. 

grounds,     --------         159 

X     Northeast  side  of  Lowell  R.  R.  Bridge,     -         -         -         159 

Y  West  side  of  Cragie's  Bridge,  -  -  -  -  -  160 
Z  Northeast  corner  of  wharf  of  Charles  River  Wharf  Co.,  1 60 
A*    Ledge  at  Taylor's  Wharf, 160 


1853.]  CITY  DOCUMENT.— No  60.  53 

B*  Southwest  comer  of  Pier  Wharf,  on  south  side  of  Cam- 
bridge Bridge, 160,  163  &  170 

C*    Point  1086  feet  from  northeast  corner   of  Beacon  and 

Charles  Streets, 164  &  170 

D*    Point  at  west  end  of  Mill  Dam  and  20  feet  from  it,  164  &;  170 


East  Boston. 

A?    Point  A  in  south  line  of  Sumner  Street,  800  feet  from 

Jeffries  street, "■  161 

B'^    Point  B  in  division  line  of  upland  lots,  60  and  61,      -  161 
C^       "       C  "       "           "     "   water  lots  of  Dunbar  and  Fet- 

typlace  &  Samson,      -         -         -         -         -         -  162 

D^    Point  D  in  range  of  easterly  boundary  line  of  Eastern 

R.  R.  Company's  water  lot,           -         -         -         -  162 

E'^  Point  E,  510  feet  from  point  F,         -         -         -         -  162 
F^       "      Gr  in  division  line  of  water  lots  of  Aspinwall  and 

Pratt  &  Cushing,        -         -         -         -         -         -  162 

G^    Point  H  in  range  of  northeast  side  of  Maverick  street,  1 62 

H^        "     I,          -         -        - 162 

P         "     K  of  page  162  and  point  A  of  page  167,  - 

K^       "     B, 167 

L*^        «     C, 167 

M^        "     D, 167 

N^       "     E,         ........  167 

O*^        "     F,  northwest  corner  of  west  pier  of  Glendon  Rolling 

Mills, 167 

P'^    Point  G,  east  pier  of  Glendon  Company,  -         -         -  168 

Q2       "      H, -         -         -  168 

R2       "       I, 168 

S'       "      K, 168 

Chelsea  Shore  of  Chelsea  Creek. 

T'^    Point   L,  202  feet  from  Marginal   Street  on  west   side 

of  bridge,  --         ------  168 

IP    Point  M, 168 

V^        «     N, 168 

W"       "      O, -         -        -  168 

X~       "      P,  southwest  corner  of  Glendon  Mills  Pier,     -  169 

Y^       «      Q, 169 

Z^       «      R, 169 


54  BOSTON  HARBOR                   [Sept. 

A^  Point  S,  southeast  corner  of  Winnisinamet  Co.'s  Wharf,      169 

B^  "      T,  southeast  corner  of  small  pier,     -         -         -         169 

C^  "      V,  end  of  piling  of  ferry  pier,            -         -         -         170 

j)5  u     -^^  dolphin  in  marsh,                           -         -         -         170 


North  side  of  Charles  River  and  in  Millers  River. 

A^     South  corner  of  island,  built  by  Maine  E,.  R-?    -         "         1*^^ 
B^     South  corner  of  northwest  abutment  of  Cragie's  Bridge. 
C^     Point  2000  feet  north  from  Harbor  line  heretofore  estab- 
lished along  the  Mill  Dam. 
D^     Point  on  north  shore  of  Charles  River,  near  its  mouth. 
E^     End  of  4th  line  on  north  side  of  old  channel.     - 
F^     Westerly  projection  of  State  Prison  Yard;  end  of  5th  line,  165 

G'  I-F  is  6th  hne. 

H^  I^    is  7th  line.     I  is  at  Prison  Point  Bridge. 

P  K'    is  8th  line. 

K^  L^  is  9th  line.     L  is  abutment  of  Lowell  R.  R., 
M°    Westerly  Wharf  of  Navy  Yard,        -         -         -         -         160 

N^    A  pier  of  Charles  River  Bridge,       -         -         -         -         160 

O'    Thompson's  Wharf,  -         -         -         -         -         -         161 

P^    Southeast  corner^  of  wharf  of   Charlestown  Land   and 

Wharf  Company,         -         -         -         --         -         161 

Q^    Point  in  range  with  east  side  of  5th  Street,        -         -         161 
R^    Wharf  B,        --------         161 


South  Boston. 

A^     Southerly  extremity  of  Tenth  line,  -         -         -         165 

B^     Point  on  northerly  side  of  S.  B.  old  bridge,  117  feet  east- 

wardly  from  west  side  of  the  draw,  -  -  -  159 
C^  Northerly  corner  of  Alger's  old  Wharf,  -  -  -  159 
D^     Northwest  corner  of  George  C.  Thatcher's  small  Wharf, 

(64  feet  from  Free  Bridge,)  -         -         -         -         159 

E^     Point  520  feet  eastwardly  from  east  side  of  Free  Bridge,     159 
F^     Northwesterly  limit  of  solid  fillings,  _         _         _       *159 

G^     Northwesterly  limit  of  any  structure,         .         _         _       *159 
H^     Point  in  east  line  of  P  Street,  extended  northward  2800 

feet  from  Fourth  Street,       _-.--* 
1'      Northerly  extremity  of  a  line  parallel  with  and  distant 

from  P  Street,  1400  feet, * 

K^     Point  in  northerly  line  of  Fourth  Street,  1400  feet  from 

P  Street,    --------* 

L^     Point   in   east  line   of  P    street,  extended  noi-thwardly 

2400  feet  from  Fourth  Street,       -         -         -         -       * 
M'     Northerly  extremity  of  a  line  parallel  with  and  distant 

from  P  Street  1000  feet, * 

N'     Point  in  northerly  line  of  Fourth  Street  extended,  1000 

feet  from  P  street,       -_____« 

*  See  Acts  and  llesolvcs,  1853,  Chap.  385,  Sec.  2. 
For  lines  in  Mystic  River,  see  Acts  and  Resolves,  1852,  Chap.  105. 

Encroachments. 

In  consequence  of  a  mistake  as  to  the  position  of  the  south  abut- 
Eient  of  Warren  Bridge,  referred  to  in  the  act  of  1837,  (See  City 
Ordinances,  pages  157  and  159,)  several  important  encroachments — 
especially  those  by  the  Fitchburg  and  the  Boston  and  Maine  Rail- 
roads and  Bartlett's  wharves, — which  should  have  been  described  in 
the  report,  were  omitted.  The  Commissioners'  lines  on  the  accompa- 
nying map  have  been  corrected. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


The  first  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  survey  of  Boston 
Harbor  was  appointed  by  Governor  Davis,  under  authority 
of  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature,  passed  March  5,  1835. 

"  To  cause  a  survey  to  be  taken  of  such  portions  of  the  Harbor 
of  Boston  as  are  comprised  between  Boston  South  Bridge  and  the 
dam  of  the  Boston  and  Roxburj  Mill  Corporation,  including  the 
"wharves  and  flats  of  East  Boston  and  of  Charlestown,  and  to  de- 
fine upon  a  plan  or  plans,  such  lines  as  they  shall  think  it  expe- 
dient to  establish,  beyond  which  no  wharves  shall  be  extended  into 
and  over  the  tide-water  of  the  Commonwealth,  on  either  side  of 
said  harbor,  and  report  their  doings  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil."* 

This  Board  consisted  of  Messrs.  Loammi  Baldwin,  S. 
Thayer,  and  James  Hayward,  all  engineers  of  eminent  scien- 
tific attainments.  The  Report,  submitted  by  them  January 
30,  1837,  is  distinguished  by  the  minuteness  and  accuracy  of 
the  survey,  soundings  and  other  scientific  details. 

Several  lines  were  recommended  by  the  Commissioners  j 
they  say,  in  reference  to  them,  — 

"  They  intend  only  to  mark  on  one  side,  the  extent  to  which 
wharves,  either  solid  or  on  piles,  may  be  built  into  and  over  the 
tide-water  from  the  shore.  But  they  do  not  decide,  in  any  case 
whatever,  the  relative  rights  of  individuals  within  it,  or  give  by  the 
survey  and  plans  the  boundary  or  breadth  of  any  wharf  or  other 
property  situated  between  it  and  the  shore.  We  leave  all  legal  rights 
as  we  found  them,  only  prescribing  limits  we  think  it  expedient  to 
estabhsh,  beyond  which  they  cannot  go  further  into  the  channel 
or  tide-water,  for  the  general  good  and  preservation  of  the  harbor." 

*By  Res.  1835,  Ch.  85,  (April  6th,)  $5,000  were  appropriated  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  the  Kesolve  of  March  5th. 

By  Res.  1836,  Ch.  62,  (April  9th,)  the  Commissioners  were  directed  to  delineate 
the  flats  on  maps,  and  give  the  names  of  the  owners. 

By  Res.  1836,  Ch.  98,  (April  16th,)  the  Attorney  General  was  directed  to  en- 
force the  law  respecting  obstructions  of  the  harbor. 


2 


APPENDIX. 


South  Bay,  in  its  connection  with  Four  Point  Channel,  is 
thus  spoken  of :  — 

"  If,  by  any  process,  this  great  reservoir  becomes  contracted  to 
any  considerable  extent  by  wharves,  filling,  or  other  construction, 
the  channel  will  soon  feel  the  injurious  consequences.  In  fixing 
the  lines  on  either  side  between  the  two  bridges,  we  were  confined 
by  the  wharves  already  built,  or  by  those  now  building  by  the 
South  Cove  Company.  But  the  channel  here  is  principally  pre- 
served by  giving  such  direction  and  position  to  the  lines  as  to 
limit  all  dangerous  encroachments  on  the  scouring  effect  of  ebb 
tide.  Great  obstructions  to  the  passing  and  repassing  of  the 
tide  is  caused  by  the  piles  of  the  Free  bridge,  by  the  planked 
sides  of  the  wharves  above  and  below  the  draw,  and  by  the  ob- 
lique position  of  the  bridge  with  regard  to  the  current.  From  the 
south  abutment  of  the  bridge  we  have,  upon  careful  examination, 
placed  the  line  as  before  described,  on  the  south  and  southeast 
side  of  Four  Point  channel,  and  if  the  flats  here  are  filled  up  above 
high  water  in  the  direction  marked  on  the  plan,  from  South  Boston, 
the  flood  tides  from  toward  Four  Point  corner,  nearly  opposite 
India  Wharf,  will  all  be  forced  into  the  channel,  and  the  ebb  tides 
returning  must  take  the  same  course,  and  act  as  a  scouring  cur- 
rent to  wash  out  the  channel  and  preserve  its  depth." 

The  following  extracts  will  show  their  views  upon  a  point 
of  great  interest :  — 

"  Boston  harbor  being  only  a  channel  for  the  tide  to  flow 
in  and  out  of  the  great  reservoirs  before  mentioned,  it  may  not  be 
irrelevant  to  show  how  it  may  be  suddenly  or  gradually  destroyed, 
and  become  only  a  safe  anchorage  for  the  lightest  coasting  craft, 
where  the  largest  merchant  vessels  and  even  ships  of  the  line  now 
ride  in  deep  water  with  perfect  safety.  It  is  obvious  to  every 
reflecting  man,  for  instance,  that  if  a  dam  were  to  be  built  on  the 
site  where  South  Boston  Free  bridge,  or  South  Boston  bridge, 
now  stands,  and  the  tide  prevented  from  flowing  above,  Four  Point 
channel  would  soon  be  filled  with  sediment,  and  not  be  distinguish- 
able from  the  surface  of  flats  on  the  southeast  side.  Similar  effects 
would  also  result  from  the  erection  of  dams  in  place  of  Chelsea 
and  Charles  River  bridge.  These  would  stop  the  tides,  and  as 
there  would  be  no  current  either  way,  silt  and  sediment  would,  in 
a  short  time,  fill  this  beautiful  part  of  the  harbor,  and  render  it 
only  accessible  for  fishing  boats. 

"  The  Commissioners  are  aware  that  this  is  putting  a 
strong  case,  as  no  such  dams  can  ever  be  erected  without  the 


APPKNDIX.  O 

sanction  of  the  Legislature.  But  what  would  evidently  be  the 
consequence  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years  by  the  supposed 
dams,  will  as  certainly  be  eifected  more  gradually,  and  the  ruin 
of  the  harbor  as  complete  at  a  more  distant  period,  by  cutting  off 
large  portions  of  the  Charles  or  Mystic  rivers  above  the  two 
bridges,  either  to  stop  the  tide  altogether,  or  partially,  from  flow- 
ing and  filling  the  extensive  basins  of  either.  When  the  Boston 
and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation  was  chartered,  June  14,  1814,  it 
was  authorized  also  to  build  a  dam  from  Boston  to  South  Boston, 
not  northerly  or  easterly  of  South  Boston  bridge.  This  would 
have  cut  off  all  South  bay,  probably  amounting  to  200  or  300 
acres,  and  the  effect  would  have  been  very  injurious,  if  not 
destructive,  to  Four  Point  channel.  Besides  the  Boston  and  Rox- 
bury Mill  Corporation,  which,  by  their  dam,  cut  off  from  Cambridge 
bay  700  or  800  acres,  another  dam  was  authorized  much  earlier, 
June  1806,  from  Prison  point,  in  Charlestown,  to  Lechmere's 
point,  in  Cambridge,  by  an  act  establishing  the  Proprietors  of 
Prison  Point  Dam  Corporation.  Instead  of  the  dam  a  bridge  has 
been  substituted.  This  would  have  cut  off  Miller's  rivers,  and 
several  hundred  acres  more  from  the  great  basin  of  Charles  river." 

After  stating  the  Old  Colony  Law  of  1641,  they  add  — 

"  This  is  all  the  written  law  we  have  upon  the  subject,  upon 
which  many  principles  at  common  law  and  points  of  practice  have 
been  decided  in  the  courts,  with  which  the  commissioners  have  no 
concern." 

"  But  they  believe,  and  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  state  the  rea- 
sons, that  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  rights  given  by  this 
ancient  law  is  inconsistent  with  the  existence  of  the  harbor.  An 
instance  is  presented  in  South  bay.  The  proprietors  of  the  shores 
surrounding  the  flats  of  this  basin  have  a  right  to  build  their 
wharves  or  solid  filling,  extending  one  hundred  rods  into  and  over 
the  tide-water,  if  not  interrupted  by  channels  within  that  distance. 
As  we  do  not  know  any  legal  objection  to  their  exercising  or  sell- 
ing this  right,  and  one  hundred  rods  in  width  round  the  said  basin 
will  make  a  considerable  part  of  its  area.  Four  Point  channel  may 
be  effected,  and  as  South  Cove  Company  has  already  filled  nearly 
all  the  surface  of  flats  between  the  two  bridges,  by  an  act  of  Jan- 
uary 31,  1833,  the  absolute  ruin  of  that  channel  hangs  upon  the 
contingency  whether  the  ancient  law  is  in  force  relative  to  the  tide- 
water of  South  bay,  and  whether  the  owners  will  ever  exercise 
their  rights.  The  same  effects  may  be  produced  in  numerous 
places  on  the  Charles  and  Mystic  rivers,  by  a^different  mode,  but 
quite  as  fatal  to  that  part  of  the  harbor." 


^  APPENDIX. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  April  19,  1837,  the 
line  was  established,  which  is  described  in  the  Ordinances  of 
the  City,  pages  156  and  157,  and  shown  upon  the  plan  at- 
tached to  this  report,  as  one  of  the  lines  in  Boston  Harbor, 
beyond  which  no  wharf  or  pier  should  ever  be  extended  into 
and  over  the  tide-water  of  the  Commonwealth, 

It  was  prescribed  by  the  said  Act  — 

"  Sec.  3.  No  wharf,  pier,  or  building,  or  incumbrance  of  any 
kind,  shall  ever  hereafter  be  extended  beyond  the  said  line  into  or 
over  the  tide-water  in  said  harbor. 

"  Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  enlarge  or  extend  any  wharf  or 
pier,  which  is  now  erected  on  the  inner  side  of  said  line  further 
towards  the  said  line,  than  such  wharf  or  pier  now  stands,  or  than 
the  same  might  have  been  lawfully  enlarged  or  extended  before 
the  passing  of  this  act,  without  leave  first  obtained  in  due  form  of 
law. 

"  Sec.  5.  No  person  shall  in  any  other  part  of  the  said  harbor 
of  Boston,  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth,  erect  or  cause  to  be 
erected  any  wharf  or  pier,  or  begin  to  erect  any  wharf  or  pier 
therein,  or  place  any  stones,  wood,  or  other  materials  in  said  har- 
bor, or  dig  down  or  remove  any  of  the  land  covered  with  water  at 
low  tide,  in  said  harbor,  with  intent  to  erect  any  wharf  or  pier 
therein,  or  to  enlarge  or  extend  any  wharf  or  pier  now  erected : 
provided,  however,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  con- 
strued as  intended  to  restrain  or  control  the  lawful  rights  of  the 
owners  of  any  lands  or  flats  in  said  harbor. 

"  Sec.  6.  Every  person  offending  against  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  liable 
to  be  prosecuted  therefor,  by  indictment  or  information,  in  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and  on  conviction  shall  be  punished 
by  a  fine  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  nor  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  for  every  offence,  and  any  erection  or  obstruc- 
tion which  shall  be  made,  contrary  to  the  provisions  and  intent  of 
this  act,  shall  be  liable  to  be  removed  and  abated  as  a  public 
nuisance,  in  the  manner  heretofore  provided,  for  the  removal 
and  abatement  of  nuisances  on  the  public  highways." 


The  second  Commission,  consisting  of  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn, 
James  F.  Baldwin,  and  Caleb  Eddy,  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Everett,  under  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature  passed 
April  9,  1839, 


APPENDIX.  O 

"  To  cause  to  be  taken  a  copy  of  tlie  survey  of  the  harbor  of 
Boston,  made  by  Commissioners,  under  a  resolve,  approved  the 
fifth  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-five, 
and  upon  such  copy  or  survey  define  such  fines  as  they  shall  think 
expedient  to  establish,  beyond  which  no  wharves  shall  be  extended 
into  and  over  the  tide-waters  of  the  Commonwealth,  on  either  side 
of  said  harbor  :  provided,  that  so  much  of  the  line  as  is  defined  by 
an  act,  approved  the  nineteenth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-seven,  shall  be  considered  the  estabhshed  line 
for  that  part  of  the  harbor." 

From  their  report,  submitted  December  28,  1839,  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  are  made  :  — 

"  The  hydrographical  features  of  Boston  Harbor,  including  its 
whole  expanse,  from  the  open  ocean  to  the  extremities  of  the 
channels,  bays,  and  estuaries,  as  far  as  the  tide  flows,  are  so  very 
extensive  and  diversified,  so  peculiar  is  the  topography  of  its  nu- 
merous islands  and  of  the  circumjacent  country,  —  so  recondite, 
complicated  and  difficult  of  solution  are  many  of  the  laws  relating 
to  fluids,  and  so  uncertain  are  the  results  which  may  be  produced 
by  any  diminution  of  the  whole  area,  or  change  in  the  width, 
depth,  or  direction  of  any  of  the  channels,  by  artificial  means,  that 
questions  of  the  gravest  import  are  presented,  for  rigid  investiga- 
tion and  profound  consideration,  whenever  bounds  are  to  be  pre- 
scribed, beyond  which,  no  obstructions  shall  be  placed,  that  may, 
in  any  manner,  impede,  or  divert  from  their  natural  and  ancient 
course,  the  movements  of  the  tides. 

"  Within  this  immense  haven  are  numerous  large  and  expensive 
commercial,  naval,  military  and  manufacturing  establishments,  as 
well  as  a  vast  amount  of  navigation  of  every  denomination,  to  each 
and  all  of  which  particular  portions,  or  the  entire  expanse  of 
water,  is  immediately  or  indirectly  important ;  but  in  a  special 
manner  as  regards  a  free  passage  to  and  from  the  ocean,  equal  at 
least  to  that  which  has  hitherto  been  enjoyed,  and  is  indispensable 
for  all  the  purposes,  that  induced  the  location  of  the  numerous 
works  which  have  either  been  completed,  are  in  progress,  or  have 
been  projected,  and  the  successful  prosecution  of  that  diversified, 
prosperous  and  valuable  maritime  industry,  for  which  the  requisite 
natural  facilities  have  been  so  abundantly  and  completely  afforded. 

"  There  are  no  problems  in  engineering,  whose  comprehension, 
solution  and  practical  illustration  have  so  entirely  frustrated  all 
the  attempts  of  the  most  ingenious  and  scientific,  as  those  which 
arise  in  the  construction  of  hydraulic  works,  or  in  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  navigation  of  rivers  and  harbors  by  the  erection  of  piers, 
dams,  jetties,  break-waters  and  dikes,  or  the  removal  of  impedi- 
ments, for  a  more  free  and  copious  current  of  water. 


O  APPENDIX. 

"  The  experiments  of  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  antiquity 
and  of  the  most  learned  and  accomplished  engineers  of  modern 
times,  both  in  Europe  and  in  this  country,  for  the  accomplishment 
of  those  great  objects  which  are  either  demanded  to  afford  protec- 
tion, and  give  facilities  to  commercial  operations,  or  as  a  motive 
power  for  manufacturing  or  other  purposes,  have  often  failed  in 
producing  the  anticipated  results,  from  causes,  which  had  been 
accidentally  neglected  or  were  disregarded,  from  their  supposed 
insignificance,  or  which  had  not  been  sufficiently  investigated  and 
understood,  or  are  still  incapable  of  satisfactory  explanation." 

"  As  late  as  1798,  the  island  called  '  Nick's  Mate,'  was  so  large 
as  to  be  used  as  a  sheep  pasture,  but  it  has  long  since  been  so 
entirely  destroyed,  that  only  a  reef  of  rocks,  visible  at  low  water, 
designates  its  position,  and  on  which  it  has  been  necessary  to 
erect  a  monument,  as  a  landmark  for  mariners. 

"  By  a  chart  of  the  harbor,  which  was  executed  in  1775,  Bird 
Island  appears  to  have  existed  at  that  time  ;  but  long  after  the 
settlement  of  Boston,  it  was  so  extensive,  as  to  have  afforded  an 
ample  site  for  a  spacious  fort,  which  was  for  many  years  main- 
tained as  one  of  the  chief  military  defences  of  the  city  ;  —  now 
nothing  remains  but  an  extensive  shoal,  a  very  small  portion  of 
which  is  bare  at  low  water. 

"  From  a  statement  made  to  one  of  the  Commissioners,  by  the 
late  gallant  captain  John  Forster  Williams,  a  few  years  before  his 
death,  that  portion  of  the  main  channel,  called  the  '  Narrows,' 
which  passes  between  Level's  and  Gallop's  islands,  where  the 
Magnifique,  a  French  seventy-four,  accidentally  grounded  and 
was  sunk,  during  the  war  of  the  revolution,  had  been  so  filled  up, 
by  the  extension  of  the  beach  from  the  western  side  of  the  first 
named  island,  as  to  have  been  converted  into  solid  land,  and  the 
place  in  which  the  wreck  of  that  ship  is  buried,  is  not,  at  this 
time,  overflowed  at  high  water,  by  the  ordinary  tides. 

"  When  an  examination  was  made  of  Deer  Island  by  the  officers 
of  the  city,  and  other  persons  who  were  invited  to  accompany 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  facts,  to  be  included  in  a  me- 
morial to  Congress,  representing  the  importance  of  protecting,  by 
a  sea-wall,  that  vast  natural  break-water  from  total  demolition,  it 
was  ascertained,  from  comparing  the  existing  area,  with  that 
which  appeared  to  have  been  its  extent,  by  a  survey  which  had 
been  made  about  an  hundred  years  anterior,  that  at  least  sixty 
acres  had  been  washed  away,  by  the  perpetual  action  of  the  sea. 

"  When  the  French  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Count  D'Es- 
taing,  took  refuge  in  Nantasket  Roads,  after  the  partial  action 
with  the  British  squadron  under  Lord  Howe,  and  encountering  a 
severe  gale  off  Newport,  in  the  autumn  of  seventeen  hundred  and 


APPENDIX.  7 

seventy-elglit,  a  large  field-work  was  erected  on  the  eastern  side 
of  George's  Island,  for  the  protection  of  the  ships,  against  an 
anticipated  attack  from  those  of  the  enemy,  which  appeared  off  the 
harbor ;  but  so  powerful  and  rapid  has  been  the  action  of  the 
waves  in  violent  storms,  upon  that  portion  of  the  island,  that  the 
lofty  compact,  and  solid  earth  has  so  far  disappeared,  as  to  leave 
only  a  few  feet  of  the  sod-work  of  one  of  the  salient  angles  of  the 
most  western  bastion. 

"  But  nearly  every  island  and  head-land  presents  the  effects  of 
these  causes,  at  distant  and  different  periods  of  time,  which  are 
still  in  operation  for  their  destruction,  on  some  portions  of  their 
shores.  Steep  acclivities  are  to  be  seen,  which  are  sodded  over 
from  their  summits  to  their  bases,  denoting  the  ravages  which  had 
anciently  been  made,  during  a  long  succession  of  years,  until  a 
new  direction  was  given,  in  some  inexplicable  manner,  to  the  cur- 
rent, and  the  violent  action  of  the  waves,  which  had  impinged 
upon  and  gradually  worn  them  away  ;  and  now,  not  merely  shoals 
or  bars,  but  dry  beaches,  and  in  some  cases  large  tracts  of  land 
covered  with  vegetation,  extend  into  the  harbor,  from  these  lofty 
banks,  while  on  the  opposite  shore,  or  at  some  other  points  of  the 
same  islands  and  promontories,  a  like  process  of  devastation  is 
going  on  with  equally  striking  consequences. 

With  these  numerous  and  well-established  facts,  it  is  obvious, 
that  the  changes  which  are  continually  being  produced  throughout 
the  harbor  result  from  the  causes  which  have  been  named ;  and 
that  any  artificial  means  which  may  be  employed  to  vary,  accel- 
erate, impede  or  prevent  the  action  of  any  of  them,  may  have  a 
salutary  or  injurious  effect,  at  some  of  the  most  important  points 
in  the  harbor ;  as  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
predict  from  scientific  principles,  or  data,  sufficiently  numerous 
and  conclusive,  what  will  be  the  precise  effect  of  any  enlargement 
or  diminution  of  the  volume  of  water,  at  any  particular  points  of 
the  harbor.  But  it  may  be  assumed,  as  an  important  and  well- 
estabhshed  element  in  the  inquiry,  that  whatever  is  done  that  shall 
reduce  the  quantity  of  water,  that  passes  into  the  large  estuaries 
and  bays,  north,  west  and  south  of  the  city,  and  now  covers  the 
vast  extent  of  shoals  in  other  parts  of  the  harbor,  will  have  a  direct 
tendency  to  create  obstructions  at  some  points,  in  the  various 
channels,  while  at  others  the  depths  may  be  deepened,  according 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  diminution  of  the  volume  of  water 
may  be  occasioned,  in  these  immense  basins.  This  may  be  effected 
in  two  modes.  First,  by  filling  up  portions  of  these  capacious 
reservoirs,  and  converting  so  much  of  their  areas  into  solid  land  ; 
and  second,  by  contracting  the  channels,  through  which  the  water 
flows  into  and  out  of  them,  during  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tides. 

"  By  the  former  mode,  all  the  channels  below  would  gradually 


8  APPENDIX. 

be  contracted  in  width  and  depth,  from  the  sediment  which  would 
be  accumulated  in  them,  in  consequence  of  the  abated  influence  of 
the  tides  ;  and  bj  the  latter,  while  the  immediate  effect  would  be, 
to  deepen  those  narrowed  channels,  from  the  increased  velocity 
thus  occasioned  in  their  currents,  the  debris  which  was  thereby 
removed  would  be  deposited  at  other  places,  more  or  less  remote 
from  the  ocean,  according  to  the  violence  of  the  action  which  may 
be  given  to  the  receding  waters. 

"  From  these  considerations,  it  has  been  deemed  of  the  first 
consequence,  that  bounds  should  be  established,  beyond  which  ob* 
structions  should  not  be  extended  into  any  portions  of  the  harbor, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  done,  without  a  direct  infringement  of  private 
rights,  and  a  due  regard  to  the  general  weal. 

"  But  such  is  the  imperiously  increasing  demand  for  greater 
accommodations,  by  all  the  branches  of  the  infinitely  varied  indus- 
try, in  which  the  accumulating  population  of  the  metropohs  is  em- 
ployed, that  it  is  impossible  to  meet  it,  without  yielding  much  of 
mere  theory,  to  the  practical  advantages  which  will  be  gained, 
from  the  increased  facilities  which  such  encroachments  are  intend- 
ed to  afford. 

"  It  is  as  true,  in  relation  to  commercial  emporiums  as  of  nations, 
that  they  cannot  remain  stationary ;  they  must  advance  or  retro- 
grade in  population,  aflOiuence,  consequence  and  grandeur ;  and 
these  latter  glorious  results  are. dependent  upon  the  active  indus- 
try, intelligence,  and  enterprise  of  the  former ;  and  as  the  con- 
tinual enlargement  of  maritime  cities  is  alternately  the  happy  cause 
and  admirable  effect  of  their  own  and  their  country's  prosperity, 
whatever  can  be  accomplished,  that  shall  tend  to  produce  such  tri- 
umphant consequences,  it  is  the  dictate  of  wisdom  to  attempt,  and  if, 
unfortunately,  any  of  the  anticipated  injurious  effects,  upon  the 
capacity  of  Boston  harbor,  should  be  experienced,  from  any  pros- 
pective reclamations,  which  may  be  made  from  its  domains,  it  is 
highly  probable,  that  the  immense  advantages  which  will  have 
been  thus  derived,  will  warrant  the  experiment,  and  justify  the 
expenditures,  which  may  thereby  be  rendered  necessary,  to  obvi- 
ate or  remove  every  impediment,  which  such  encroachments  may 
have  produced,  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  various  channels,  by 
the  usual  artificial  means  which  have  been  resorted  to,  in  other 
ages  and  nations  ;  for  it  would  not  be  considered  an  enlightened 
and  patriotic  policy,  to  establish  the  limits  of  a  flourishing  commer- 
cial capital,  beyond  which  it  should  not  be  enlarged,  from  a  pre- 
sumed apprehension  that  injury,  in  some  unknown  manner,  might 
possibly  be  thus  done,  to  the  natural  features  of  its  harbor.  That 
very  intelligence,  enterprise,  and  wealth,  which  had  been  employed 
in  layij;ig  its  foundations,  and  rearing  it  to  its  present  flourishing 
condition,  would  be  directed  to  render  all  the  chief  approaches 


APPENDIX. 


from  the  ocean,  and  the  interior  havens,  roads,  anchorages,  and 
docks,  commensurate  with  the  increased  wants  of  the  expanded 
population  and  business." 

In  accordance  with  the  liberal  views  of  the  Commissioners, 
several  lines  were  recommended,  and  established  by  an  Act 
of  the  Legislature,  passed,  March  17,  1840,  with  the  same 
restrictions  and  liabilities  as  those  attached  to  the  Act  of  1837. 
Said  lines  are  fully  described  in  the  Ordinances  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  p.  158  to  163,  and  appear  upon  the  plan  attached  to 
this  report. 

By  an  Act  passed  March  6,  1841,  the  line  between  West 
Boston  bridge  and  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  mill  dam  was 
altered  in  part,  as  described,  pages  163  and  164  of  the  City 
Ordinances  ;  a  further  alteration  was  made  b)''  Act  of  May  3, 
1850,  described  in  the  City  Ordinances,  page  170,  and  it 
appears  as  altered  upon  the  plan. 


The  third  Commission  was  appointed  under  a  resolve  of 
the  Legislature,  passed  March  22,  1845  — 

"  To  take  or  cause  to  be  taken,  as  soon  as  practicable,  accurate 
surveys  of  South  Bay,  Charles  E-iver,  and  Mystic  River  and  Pond ; 
(above  and  beyond  the  limits  prescribed  to  Commissioners  hereto- 
fore appointed  for  the  survey  of  Boston  Harbor,  under  a  resolve 
passed  on  the  fifth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-five,)  to  extend  to  the  head  of  tide  water  on 
each,  and  embrace  the  marshes  and  flats  which  are  overflowed  by 
the  spring  tides  in  either ;  for  the  security  of  the  said  rivers  and 
bay,  as  reservoirs  essential  to  the  continuance  and  capacity  of 
Boston  Harbor  for  commercial  purposes,  as  well  as  the  facilities  of 
inland  navigation  and  shij)-building,  now  afibrded  by  said  rivers 
or  either  of  them,"  with  directions  to  "  report  how  far,  and  to 
what  extent,  if  any,  the  said  bay  and  rivers,  or  either  of  them, 
may  be  curtailed  or  diminished  without  endangering  the  harbor  of 
Boston,  and  greatly  impairing  the  advantages  of  navigation  and 
ship-building  on  said  rivers :  "  also  "  to  report  if  there  be  any 
means  whereby  the  capacity  and  beneficial  action  of  said  reser- 
voirs upon  the  harbor  may  be  enlarged  and  increased." 


10 


APPENDIX. 


The  report  submitted  by  the  Commissioners,  Messrs.  James 
Hay  ward  and  Ezra  Lincohi,  Jr.,  contains  much  vakiable  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  area  of  the  marshes  and  flats  covered 
by  tide-water ;  and  the  opinion  of  the  Commissioners,  contain- 
ed in  the  following  extracts,  as  to  the  importance  of  the  great 
reservoirs,  and  the  probable  effect  of  certain  improvements, 
upon  the  main  channels  in  the  harbor,  deserves  attention. 

South  Bay. 

"  The  Commissioners  find  that  the  area  of  South  Bay, — above 
the  old  South  Boston  Bridge, —  is  at  present  345  acres.  This 
area  is  about  75  or  80  acres  larger  than  formerly,  the  bordering 
marsh  land  having  been  excavated  for  the  purpose  of  filling  up  the 
South  Cove  and  other  neighboring  flats.  And  196  acres  of  marsh 
still  remains  connected  with  this  bay.  The  channel  above  this 
bridge,  is  of  small  dimensions  at  low  water,  being  nowhere  more 
than  300  feet  wide  ;  and,  except  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  bridge, 
not  generally  more  than  100  feet  in  width.  Of  these  345  acres, 
from  250  to  300  are  liable  to  be  filled  up  by  the  owners,  and  will 
undoubtedly  be  so  filled,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  tide. 
There  are  contracts  already  existing  for  enclosing,  this  very  year, 
some  40  acres  of  these  flats,  with  half  as  many  acres  of  marsh, 
with  a  view  to  filling  them  up  some  feet  above  high  water  mark  : 
as  the  demand  in  that  neighborhood  for  building  ground  increases, 
other  proprietors  of  flats  will  undoubtedly  do  the  same  ;  and,  not 
many  years  hence,  this  bay  will  probably  be  reduced  to  one  quar- 
ter of  its  present  area. 

"  With  a  proper  disposition  of  the  channels  and  flats  below,  it 
is  believed  that  this  reduction  of  the  area  of  South  Bay,  will  have 
no  prejudicial  effect  on  the  main  channel  of  the  harbor.  If  the 
flats  east  of  Fore  or  Fort  Point  Channel  were  placed  in  the  custody 
of  some  responsible  agency, — to  be  filled  up  or  otherwise  disposed 
of,  with  an  intelligent  view  to  the  improvement  of  commercial 
accommodation  in  the  port  of  Boston, — there  is  no  doubt  that 
they  can  be  so  disposed  of,  as  that  the  entire  extinction  of  South 
Bay,  as  a  part  of  the  scouring  apparatus  of  the  main  channel, 
would  be  no  detriment  to  the  harbor.  The  true  principle  is,  to 
preserve  a  proper  balance  between  the  capacity  of  the  channel  and 
the  area  of  the  tidal  rivers  and  bays  above,  to  be  filled  and  emp- 
tied twice  every  24  hours  through  this  channel.  In  the  present 
state  of  things,  Fort  Point  Channel  would  undoubtedly  suffer  by  a 
very  great  reduction  of  the  capacity  of  South  Bay  ;  but  if  the 
wall  which  was  proposed  to  be  built  on  its  eastern  margin  were 
erected,  it  would  counteract,  to  a  great  degree,  the  inconvenient 
effect  of  such  reduction. 


APPENDIX. 


11 


Mystic  River. 

"  The  area  of  Mj^stic  River,  above  Chelsea  Bridge,  is  878  acres  ; 
the  area  of  marshes  adjacent,  is  l,53-3  acres  ;  and,  if  we  add  to 
these  the  area  of  Mystic  Pond,  which  is  228  acres,  we  have,  for  the 
whole  area  within  the  banks,  1,106  acres  ;  and  when  the  tides  are 
high  enough  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  marshes,  the  Avater  surface 
above  Chelsea  Bridge  is  2,639  acres.  It  should  be  remarked, 
however,  that  at  oicap  tides  there  is  no  flood  tide  setting  into  Mys- 
tic Pond.  The  bottom  of  the  channel  at  the  outlet  is  near  the 
level  of  high  Avater  at  these  tides,  and  being  composed  of  a  coarse 
and  compact  gravel,  is  not  worn  awaj  by  the  action  of  the  Avater, 
and,  consequently,  is  not  in  a  situation  to  receive  the  tide  water 
at  neap  tides.  If  it  should  be  found  desirable  to  employ  a  greater 
scouring  power  in  this  river,  the  channel  at  the  outlet  might  be 
enlarged  at  a  comparatively  small  expense,  to  the  size  of  the  river 
half  a  mile  beloAv.  Whether  the  owners  of  the  outlet,  and  those 
interested  in  the  navigation  of  the  river,  have  a  right  to  change 
the  character  of  Mystic  Pond,  as  it  Avould  be  by  opening  such  a 
channel,  is  not  the  province  of  this  Commission  to  determine.  The 
pond  is  in  two  divisions,  Avhich  are  not  very  different  in  area, 
and  Avhich  are  united  by  a  strait  Avhich  is  fordable  in  all  states  of 
the  water.  The  loAver  division  of  this  pond  is  somewhat  brackish. 
It  receives  the  water  from  the  river  below  at  high  Avater  at  spring 
tides — which  water  is  diluted  by  being  mingled  with  the  Avaters 
discharged  from  the  pond ;  yet,  notAvithstanding  its  freshened 
character,  it  is  heavier  than  the  Avaters  of  the  pond,  and  occupies 
the  lowest  place.  On  the  return  of  the  tide,  the  top  water  is  dis 
charged  from  the  pond  ;  so  that  the  southern  division  has  become 
permanently  brackish,  notAvithstanding  the  perpetual  influx  of 
fresh  water  from  the  river  above.  If  the  channel  at  the  present 
outlet  were  to  be  enlarged,  so  as  to  give  the  same  freedom  of 
influx  and  efilux  here  as  in  the  river  beloAv,  this  southern  division 
of  the  pond  Avould  soon  be  very  much  like  the  river  beloAV  as  to 
the  character  of  its  Avaters ;  and  the  same  process  Avhich  is  now 
constantly  going  on  at  the  outlet,  Avould  be  daily  taking  place  at 
the  narrows,  or  Avhatever  the  strait  is  called  Avhich  divides  the 
pond, — and  the  whole  pond  Avould,  probably,  in  a  few  years,  be- 
come entirely  unfit  for  any  other  use  than  that  of  a  basin  to  receive 
and  discharge  the  tides  of  the  river. 

Aside  from  the  damage  that  such  a  change  in  the  waters  of  this 
pond  would  do  the  bordering  estates,  Ave  are  not  quite  satisfied  that 
such  an  experiment  is  altogether  desirable  in  itself.  The  velocity 
of  the  currents  in  the  various  parts  of  the  river  Avould  be  variously 
increased  by  the  change,  and  in  some  parts  to  a  very  inconvenient 
extent.  If  the  channel  in  the  upper  section  of  the  river,  and  into 
the  pond,  could  be  so  enlarged  that  the  Avholc  pond  Avould  be  dis- 


12 


APPENDIX. 


charged  and  filled  by  every  ebb  and  flood — as  the  river  itself  is 
now — the  amount  of  water  passing  Chelsea  Bridge,  in  ordinary 
tides,  would  be  increased  25  per  cent.  The  quantity  passing 
Maiden  Bridge  would  be  increased  47  per  cent. ;  the  increase  at 
the  rail-road  bridge  would  be  73  per  cent.  ;  at  Ten  Hills  Farm 
the  quantity  passing  would  be  doubled  ;  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  proper — at  the  spur  of  Winter  Hill — 120  per  cent,  more 
water  would  pass  each  tide  than  does  at  present.  That  this  addi- 
tional quantity  of  water  should  pass,  each  tide,  through  the  present 
channel,  it  would  require  the  average  velocity  of  the  current,  in 
these  various  places,  to  be  increased  in  the  same  ratio.  Suppose 
that  the  average  velocity  of  the  current  at  half  tide,  at  the  Boston 
and  Maine  Rail-road  Bridge,  to  be  now  4  feet  per  second ;  by 
making  the  change  proposed,  the  current  at  the  same  place,  (on 
the  supposition  that  the  pond  is  emptied  and  filled  each  tide 
through  the  present  channel,)  must  be  7  feet  per  second.  Or, 
suppose  that  at  half  flood  now,  in  a  given  tide,  the  average  veloci- 
ty at  the  narrows,  the  spur  of  Winter  Hill,  is  5  feet  per  second — 
it  would,  in  the  case  supposed,  become  11  feet  per  second.  And 
in  any  section  of  the  river  higher  up,  the  change  would  be  propor- 
tionally greater.  The  bottom  and  sides  of  the  present  channel 
are  not  adapted  to  this  changed  state  of  the  current.  Portions  of 
the  bed  and  banks  of  the  river,  which  have  hitherto  resisted  the 
action  of  the  water,  would  yield  to  this  increased  action,  and  incal- 
culable changes  in  the  channel  itself  would  be  the  consequence. 

"  We  are  of  opinion,  however,  that,  if  this  experiment  were  tried, 
the  results  above  stated  would  not  be  realized  to  their  full  extent 
— as,  in  the  present  state  of  the  channel,  the  pond  would  not  be 
filled  and  discharged  to  the  present  compass  of  the  tides  in  the 
river — and,  consequently,  the  actual  velocity  of  the  current  Avould 
not  be  as  great  as  is  stated  in  the  above  hypothesis.  But  the  ve- 
locity of  the  current  must  be  very  much  increased  by  such  an 
addition  to  the  capacity  of  the  reservoir ;  and,  probably,  large 
portions  of  the  present  bed  and  banks  of  the  river  would  be 
removed  from  the  narrower  parts,  and  carried  down  and  deposited 
in  the  wider  parts  below  the  Ten  Hills  Farm.  The  river  in  this 
part  being  eight  or  ten  times  as  wide  as  it  is  at  the  narrows,  and 
above,  the  velocity  of  the  current  on  the  ebb,  is,  of  course,  dead- 
ened by  the  expanded  character  of  the  channel ;  and  the  marsh 
mud  and  other  material  which  the  current,  in  its  increased  veloci- 
ty, may  be  able  to  carry  with  it,  will  be  deposited,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  a  shoal  or  bar  be  the  undoubted  result.  This  process  would 
go  on  till  the  river  had  acquired  a  permanent  state  ;  that  is,  till 
the  capacity  of  the  channel  should  be  so  enlarged,  and  (for  the 
same  reason)  the  velocity  of  the  current  should  be  so  diminished, 
that  the  sides  and  bed  of  the  river  AYOuld  be  able  to  resist  the  fur- 
ther action  of  the  water. 


APPENDIX.  13 


Charles  River. 


"  The  area  of  Charles  River  above  Charles  River  Bridge,  -within 
its  banks,  including  Miller's  River,  (the  estuary  bank  of  East 
Cambridge,)  and  the  bay  back  of  the  State  Prison,  is,  in  all,  1,340 
acres.  The  amount  of  marsh  land  connected  with  it,  and  over- 
flowed at  spring  tides,  is  915  acres. 

That  part  of  Charles  River  between  Warren  Bridge  and  the 
Brookline  branch  of  the  Mill  Dam  road,  and  which,  for  the  sake 
of  distinction,  we  call  Cambridge  Bay^  has  a  deep  and  spacious 
channel  as  far  up  as  the  cross  dam  of  the  Boston  Water  Power 
Company.  From  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  proper,  which 
is  about  half  a  mile,  there  are  shoals  which  have  been  caused,  un- 
doubtedly, by  the  diminished  current,  occasioned  by  the  sudden 
expansion  of  the  river  at  that  place,  into  the  broad  bay  above 
mentioned.  From  the  Charles  River  Bridge  to  a  point  about 
1,000  feet  southwesterly  of  West  Boston  Bridge,  there  is  from  15 
to  20  feet  of  water  in  the  channel  at  low  water — and,  in  many 
places,  a  greater  depth ;  but  from  the  last  mentioned  point  to  the 
Cross  Dam  beforementioned,  the  channel  shoals  away  ;  and  thence 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  proper,  it  is  broken,  and  has  not  more 
than  three  or  four  feet  of  water  at  low  water. 

"  From  this  point  upwards,  Charles  River  has  a  much  better 
channel  than  Mystic  River.  It  has,  in  the  neighborhood  of  its 
mouth,  from  10  to  15  feet  of  water  at  low  water.  And  it  main- 
tains a  much  greater  regularity  in  its  character,  quite  up  to  the 
head  of  tide  water,  than  does  the  corresponding  part  of  Mystic 
River.  The  average  height  of  high  water  at  the  bridge  near  the 
Old  Village  in  Cambridge, — which  has  been  always  called  "  Cam- 
bridge  Bridge"  and  Avhich  was  long  the  only  bridge  over  the 
channel  of  Charles  River  below  Watertown,  (there  are  now 
eleven,)  is  two  inches  ;  and  that  at  the  bridge  near  the  arsenal  in 
Watertown,  is  four  inches  higher  than  high  water  at  the  Navy 
Yard.  And  the  average  compass  of  the  tides  in  this  river,  is  very 
nearly  the  same  that  it  is  at  Charlestown.  The  bay  or  shoal  at 
the  head  of  Cambridge  Bay,  the  mouth  of  the  river  proper,  is  the 
principal  impediment  to  navigation.  The  most  feasible  way  of 
removing  this  is  by  the  dredging  machine. 

"  The  importance  of  this  river  and  bay,  and  that  of  the  Mystic, 
to  the  preservation  of  the  main  channel,  down  to  the  islands,  are 
altogether  incalculable.  They  are  the  two  main  arteries  which 
literally  supply  the  life  current  of  Boston  Harbor.  And  the  Com- 
missioners would  respectfully  recommend  to  the  Legislature  the 
preservation  of  these  estuaries,  to  the  greatest  extent  that  may  be 
consistent  with  the  rights  of  individual  proprietors  of  bordering 
estates. 

"  If  the  modern  construction  of  the  colonial  law  of  1641,  that 


14 


APPENDIX. 


*  the  riparian  proprietor  has  a  right  to  exclude  the  tide  water 
from  the  flats  in  front  of  his  estate,  to  the  distance  of  one  hundred 
rods,  if  there  be  no  intervening  channel ; '  if  this  modern  construc- 
tion of  the  law  must  prevail,  then  Boston  Harbor  is  in  danger  of 
serious  injury.  This  subject  is  one  which  commends  itself  to  the 
careful  consideration  of  the  Legislature.  The  whole  State  has  an 
interest  in  it.  The  preservation  of  Boston,  as  a  place  of  trade,  of 
commerce,  of  ships, — is  every  year  increasing  in  importance  to 
the  whole  northern  section  of  the  country.  Every  part  of  New 
England  has  its  rail-roads  running  to  this  city.  These  have  been 
built  for  purposes  of  business,  of  trade.  They  connect  the  interior 
of  the  country  with  the  commerce  of  the  world.  But,  annihilate 
the  harbor  of  Boston,  and  these  expensive  facilities  for  inter-com- 
munication will  become  of  little  value  either  to  the  city  or  the 
country." 

"  We  have  spoken  of  the  importance  of  these  two  large  estua- 
ries, as  means  of  preservation  to  the  great  channel  which  consti- 
tutes what  may  be  called  the  main  trunk  of  the  inner  harbor. 
We  beg  leave  to  suggest  a  few  considerations  touching  the  main 
channel  itself. 

"  This  channel  commences  at  the  junction  of  Charles  and  Mys- 
tic Rivers,  opposite  the  ISTavy  Yard,  and  extends  southeasterly 
about  three  and  a  half  miles,  opening  into  the  lower  harbor  be- 
tween Fort  Independence  and  Fort  Warren.  From  its  mouth  be- 
tween these  two  islands,  to  the  Cunard  Wharf,  this  channel  is  very 
straight,  and  of  a  clear  width  of  about  3000  feet.  Before  the 
extension  of  the  wharves  at  East  Boston,  the  width  of  this  channel 
in  the  narrowest  point  was  about  1700  feet.  It  has  been  consid- 
erably curtailed  by  the  extension  of  wharves  and  other  fixtures, 
particularly  at  East  Boston.  The  Commissioners  would  respect- 
fully suggest  that  the  channel  between  East  Boston  and  the  city 
proper  is,  in  their  opinion,  to  be  treated  with  great  care  and  cau- 
tion ;  that  it  should  not  be  unnecessarily  narrowed.  In  the  ex- 
tension of  wharf  accommodations  at  East  Boston,  it  would  be  well 
to  build  on  the  Avest  side  of  the  island,  opposite  the  Navy  Yard, 
and  along  the  southeastern  side  towards  ]3ird  Island.  But  the 
further  encroachment  upon  the  main  channel  opposite  the  city 
proper,  and  opposite  to  the  flats  at  the  mouth  of  Fort  Point  Chan- 
nel, should  be  avoided, — at  least,  till  a  more  urgent  necessity 
arises  than  exists  at  present ;  and  till  there  shall  be  opportunity 
to  observe  the  effects  of  encroachments  upon  that  channel  already 
made. 

"  The  building  of  new  wharves,  the  extension  of  old  ones — the 
filling  up  of  flats  to  the  exclusion  of  the  tide,  and  the  consequent 
diversion  of  the  currents  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  are  pro- 
ducing changes  in  the  state  of  the  harbor,  some  of  them  innocent. 


APPENDIX.  15 

some  of  them  more  or  less  detrimental  to  its  character,  and  some 
of  them  tending  to  serious  consequences.  Changes  of  this  kind 
have  been  observed  since  the  survey  made  in  1835.  Some  of 
these  are  traceable  to  particular  causes,  and  tend  to  throw  light 
on  the  general  subject  of  causes  and  effects  in  relation  to  these 
changes.  They  all  show  the  importance  of  having  the  harbor 
taken  care  of — of  having  it  in  the  custody  of  some  responsible 
authority,  which  shall  insure  the  requisite  watchfulness  and  care 
— a  commission  emanating  from  the  Legislature  ;  that  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  such  a  commission  to  see  that  the  works  permitted  to 
be  erected  on  the  borders  of  the  harbor,  or  within  its  channels, 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  do  no  injury,  or  the  least  possible 
injury,  to  the  same  ;  that  they  should  be  what  they  were  author- 
ized to  be,  and  nothing  more.  That  the  said  commission  should 
keep  a  careful  record  of  all  such  changes  in  the  structures  and 
fixtures  in  and  about  the  harbor.  That  plans  should  be  taken  of 
all  such  structures,  upon  such  a  scale  as  will  readily  show  what 
the  structure  is,  particularly  in  relation  to  its  tendencies  and  effect 
upon  the  tides,  the  channels,  and  the  facilities  of  navigation. 
That  the  result  of  these  alterations  should  be  carefully  observed, 
and  recorded  for  after  reference  and  comparison ;  and,  that  such 
observations  and  experiments  upon  the  motions,  magnitude  and 
effects  of  the  tides,  as  will  show  the  tendencies  of  the  existing 
state  of  things,  be  made  on  such  occasions,  and  at  such  intervals, 
as  will  furnish  the  desired  information." 

The  lines  recommended  by  the  Commissioners  in  Charles 
River,  Miller's  River,  and  South  Bay,  were,  by  an  Act 
passed  April  26,  1847,  established  as  the  lines  in  Boston 
Harbor  beyond  which  no  wharf  or  pier  should  ever  be  extend- 
ed into  and  over  the  tide-water  of  the  Commonwealth.  Said 
lines  are  fully  described  in  the  Ordinances  of  the  City,  pages 
164,  165,  and  appear  upon  the  plan.* 


Fourth  Commission — under  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature, 
approved  April  16,  1846 — Messrs.  Joseph  Bell  and  Ezra  Lin- 
coln, Jr.,  were  appointed  Commissioners 

"  To  ascertain  what  private  rights  will  be  affected  by  adopting 
the  precautions  and  restrictions  recommended  and  pointed  out  in 

'^  1847,  Ch.  34,  (April  7,)  appropriation  of  $3,500  to  procure  a  chart  of  Boston 
Harbor,  by  the  Officers  and  Engineers  of  the  United  States  engaged  in  the  Coast 
Survey. 


16  APPENDIX. 

the  report  and  plans  of  the  commissioners  appointed  for  the  survey 
of  the  South  Bay,  Charles  River,  Mystic  River  and  Pond, — what 
is  the  value  of  those  rights,  and  what  amount  of  compensation  will 
be  required  by  the  proprietors  for  the  necessary  interference  with 
them  ;  "  "  also,  to  examine  the  wharves  and  other  structures  that 
have  been  built  or  extended  on  the  borders  of  the  harbor  of  Bos- 
ton, or  within  its  channels,  by  permission  from  the  Legislature, 
granted  since  the  establishment  of  the  line  recommended  by  the 
commissioners  in  the  year  1837,  or  otherwise,  and  to  report  the 
facts  in  all  cases  of  violation  of  the  law." 

In  respect  to  private  claims,  after  an  able  examination  of 
the  law,  the  Commissioners  arrive  at  the  following  conclu- 
sion :  — 

"  It  seems  entirely  clear,  therefore,  that  the  colonial  ordinance 
of  1641,  has  now  the  force,  under  our  constitution,  of  a  statute 
within  that  portion  of  the  Commonwealth  formerly  constituting  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  By  this,  therefore,  as  a  rule  of 
property,  all  the  flats  within  the  scope  of  the  present  inquiry  are 
fully  embraced,  and  must  be  finally  determined. 

"  The  judicial  decisions,  also,  on  this  subject,  within  the  Com- 
monwealth, from  an  early  period  have  been  founded  on,  and,  so  far 
as  they  have  gone,  been  in  accordance  with  this  ordinance. 

"  The  rights  of  the  sovereign,  by  the  common  law,  have  given 
place,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  the  rights  of  the  riparian  owner,  and 
a  qualified  ownership  has  been  constituted  between  high  and  low 
water  mark,  in  him,  to  the  extent  of  100  rods,  on  the  sole  condition 
that  such  owner  shall  not,  in  the  language  of  the  proviso,  '  by  this 
liberty  have  power  to  stop  or  hinder  the  passage  of  boats  or  other 
vessels  in  or  through  any  sea,  creeks  or  coves,  to  other  men's 
houses  or  lands.' 

"  The  precise  legal  bearing  or  extent  of  this  proviso,  has  not, 
so  far  as  the  undersigned  have  been  able  to  learn,  been  the  subject 
of  any  final  and  exact  judicial  determination. 

"  But,  construing  the  grant  and  the  proviso  together,  as  they 
must  be,  both  being  equally  in  force,  and  constituting  together  an 
important  rule  of  property,  it  seems  clear,  that  while  important 
public  rights  have  been  surrendered  to  the  private  owners  of  ad- 
joining upland,  still  other  and  important  rights  are  reserved  to 
the  public.  The  exact  divisional  line  or  the  precise  extent  of 
the  rights  granted  and  the  rights  retained,  depending,  as  they  do, 
upon  the  construction  of  an  act  of  legislation,  rests  with  the  judi- 
cial department  of  the  government,  when  properly  presented  ;  and 
until  such  determination  shall  be  had,  it  will  not  be  reasonable  to 


APPENDIX. 


17 


expect  any  great  degree  of  certainty  or  accuracy  in  estimating 
the  comparative  value  each  may  respectively  claim  in  this  species 
of  property." 

In  pursuing  their  investigations,  with  a  view  to  discover 
all  cases  of  violation  of  the  law,  they  examined  carefully  the 
several  Acts  establishing  lines  in  the  harbor,  as  well  as  the 
numerous  Acts  granting  leave  to  individuals  and  corporations 
to  extend  separate  wharves  to  said  lines,  and  caused  the  lines 
about  the  City  proper.  East  Boston,  South  Boston,  and 
Charlestown,  to  be  accurately  re-surveyed.  The  Commission- 
ers reported  no  less  than  twenty-three  cases  of  infringements 
of  the  law.  In  reference  to  this  subject,  the  following  resolve 
was  passed  by  the  Legislature  : — 

Resolved,  That  the  District  Attorney  for  the  County  of  Suffolk 
be,  and  he  is  hereby  directed,  by  filing  information,  by  indictment 
or  other  process,  to  abate  nuisances,  and  to  enforce  penalties  that 
have  been,  or  shall  be,  incurred,  by  any  violation  of  the  law  passed 
on  the  nineteenth  day  of  April,  1837,  entitled  "  an  Act  to  pre- 
serve the  Harbor  of  Boston,  and  to  prevent  encroachments  there- 
in," and  of  any  subsequent  law  made  for  the  same  purpose.  Ap- 
proved April  26,  1847. 

February  17, 1848,  an  order  was  passed  directing  the  com- 
mittee on  mercantile  affairs,  &c.,  to  inquire  "  whether  any, 
and,  if  any,  what  measures  have  been  taken  to  carry  into 
effect  the  resolve  of  April  2G,  1847. 

In  their  report  the  Committee  insert  a  letter  from  Samuel  D. 
Parker,  Attorney  of  the  Commonwealth  for  Suffolk  County, 
from  which  the  following  extract  is  made  : — 

"  If  the  prosecutions  contemplated  were  to  be  in  the  form  of 
informations,  I  can  also  state  that  my  attention  has  not  been  called 
to  the  subject  by  any  body  ;  and,  to  this  very  hour,  I  am  informed 
of  no  intrusion,  except  the  Boston  Wharf  Company's,  against 
whom  a  temporary  injunction  was,  before  1847,  ordered  by  the 
supreme  court,  and  an  old  indictment  is  still  pending,  in  the  mu- 
nicipal court.  I  have  never  seen,  nor  been  served  with,  a  copy 
of  the  report  of  the  legislative  committee,  mentioning  the  intru- 
sions, if  there  be  such  a  report,  or  of  the  names  of  the  intruders, 
which  you  spoke  of ;  and  I  do  not  understand  the  resolve  to  cast 
c 


18  APPENDIX. 

on  me  the  duty  of  surveyor,  or  to  go  on  a  hunting  excursion  all 
along  the  commissioner's  line,  which  itself  is  not,  as  far  as  I  know, 
made  visible  by  inspection. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  neither  the  grand  juries,  by  in- 
dictments, nor  I,  by  informations,  have  done  anything  in  the 
premises." 

By  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature,  approved  May  10,  1848, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  was  directed  to  furnish, 
without  delay,  an  attested  copy  of  the  report  made  by  Joseph 
Bell  and  Ezra  Lincoln,  Jr.,  to  the  Attorney  of  the  Common- 
wealth for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  and  to  the  Attorney  for  the 
Northern  District;  and  the  said  Attorneys  were  required, 
without  delay,  to  prosecute  all  violations  of  the  law  passed 
April  19,  1837,  and  any  subsequent  law  made  for  the  same 
purpose. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  certified  documents  referred  to,  the 
County  Attorney  addressed  letters  to  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men, the  City  Solicitor,  the  City  Marshal,  the  Harbor  Master, 
the  Boston  Marine  Society,  and  to  such  private  individuals 
as,  in  his  judgment,  might  be  able  to  furnish  information 
upon  the  subject. 

A  circular  was  then  prepared  by  the  County  Attorney,  and 
addressed  to  all  the  parties  infringing  upon  the  law — in  con- 
sequence of  which,  nearly  all  the  cases  were  satisfactorily 
adjusted,  the  wharves  being  reduced  to  their  proper  limits — 
four  only  remain  unsettled  ;  three  of  these  are  still  before  the 
supreme  court. 


Fifth  Commission — 

Under  authority  of  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature,  passed 
April  16,  1846.  Governor  Briggs  appointed  Messrs.  Thomas 
G.  Carey,  Simeon  Borden,  and  Ezra  Lincoln,  Jr.,  Commis- 
sioners 

"  To  examine  the  position  of  the  flats  in  the  Harbor  of  Boston, 
between  South  Boston  and  the  Channel,  and  lying  opposite  to  the 
wharves  on  Sea  and  Broad  Streets,  with  a  vieAv  to  ascertain 


APPENDIX.  19 

•whether  any  improvement  can  be  made  thereof  beneficial  to  the 
commerce  of  Boston,  and  to  report  such  a  plan  of  improvement  as 
may  appear  to  them  to  be  feasible  and  judicious  ;  and  whether  it 
would  be  beneficial  to  straiten  the  Commissioners'  line  between 
Arch  Wharf  and  Wales's  Wharf." 

The  Commissioners'  Report  is  dated  2d  of  February,  1847. 
With  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Bache,  Superintendent  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  Coast  Survey,  they  obtained  a  valuable  chart  of 
the  flats  in  question,  based  upon  scientific  triangulation  and 
accurate  soundings ;  and  after  repeated  examinations  of  the 
flats  and  channels,  and  also  of  the  lower  harbor,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  what  would  be  the  probable  efiect,  either 
above  or  below,  of  any  changes  that  have  been  proposed, 
they  say — 

"  The  flats  in  question,  lying  between  a  line  1650  feet  from 
high  water  mark,  above  referred  to,  and  a  line  or  lines  hereinafter 
described,  beyond  which  the  commissioners  do  not  deem  it  expe- 
dient to  enclose,  cover  a  surface  of  about  360  acres,  extending 
from  Fort  Point  Channel,  on  the  south  side  of  the  city,  to  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  easterly  line  of  the  enclosure  used  for  the  South 
Boston  institutions,  and  in  front  of  the  whole  shore  of  South  Bos- 
ton. They  are  covered,  at  each  ordinary  tide,  to  the  depth  of 
about  ten  feet.  If  the  whole  area  of  the  flats  opposite  the  shore 
of  South  Boston  were  situated  above  the  city,  receiving  the  tide 
through  any  channel  by  which  vessels  must  pass  to  reach  their 
places  of  discharge,  there  can  be  no  question  that  it  would  be  ex- 
tremely dangerous  to  the  commerce  of  the  port  to  enclose  them. 
To  exclude  from  such  a  basin  a  volume  of  water  that  aids  to  scour 
the  channel  in  the  upper  harbor,  as  it  passes  to  and  from  the  sea 
four  times  a  day,  might  produce  changes  of  the  most  injurious 
character.  The  enclosure  of  the  back  bay,  as  it  is  called,  by  the 
Western  Avenue,  is  an  instance  of  this  kind  which  it  would  be 
hazardous  to  repeat.  But  the  flats  in  question  lie  helow  the  city. 
The  water  that  covers  them  aids  in  no  such  scouring  process. 
That  process  is,  in  fact,  somewhat  diminished  in  its  effect,  by  suf- 
fering a  portion  of  the  water  that  daily  ascends,  as  a  supply  for  the 
upper  basins,  to  flow  over  so  wide  a  surface  instead  of  confining 
its  passage  to  the  channels. 

"  This  opinion  is  corroborated  by  the  observations  of  Lieut. 
Charles  H.  Davis,  the  officer  at  the  head  of  the  hydrographical 
party,  by  whom  the  data  for  the  chart  accompanying  this  report 
were  furnished.     He  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  commissioners,  giving 


20  APPENDIX. 

the  result  of  his  daily  observations  upon  the  tides  and  currents  in 
the  inner  harbor,  that  '  the  ebb  tide  crosses  the  northeast  end  of 
the  South  Boston  flats  ;  and,  on  looking  at  the  chart^  you  will  per- 
ceive that  this  is  its  necessary  course, — the  northeast  end  of  the 
flats  running  further  out  into  the  ship  channel  than  any  other 
part.'  '  Near  slack  water,  both  of  ebb  and  flood,  the  tide  flows 
broad  over  the  flats,  but  with  a  velocity  so  small,  that  it  is  inap- 
preciable, and  with  no  general  or  determinate  direction.' " 

"  The  commissioners  are,  therefore,  of  opinion,  that  no  evil 
would  ensue  from  giving  permission  to  build  any  solid  structures 
on  these  flats,  that  may  be  required  for  commercial  purposes. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  a  sea-wall  or  line  of  wharves  were  erected, 
at  a  suitable  distance  from  that  edge  of  these  flats  which  makes  one 
side  of  Fort  Point  Channel,  and  if  a  similar  barrier  were  made  on 
the  side  towards  the  main  channel,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commis- 
sioners, the  current  in  each  channel  would  be  rather  quickened, 
and  its  depth  more  securely  preserved  by  the  change. 

"  In  order  to  prevent  any  injury  to  the  wharves  already  erected 
on  the  Boston  side  of  Fort  Point  Channel,  by  cutting  off  such 
passage  as  it  is  found  convenient  to  use  over  the  flats  in  their 
present  state,  as  well  as  for  the  general  improvement  of  that  chan- 
nel and  the  main  ship  channel,  the  commissioners  are  of  opinion, 
that,  whenever  the  flats  in  question  are  enclosed  or  built  upon,  as 
above  suggested,  the  whole  area  on  the  exterior  of  the  lines  above 
described  should  be  excavated,  to  a  depth  of  ten  feet  below  the 
plane  of  reference  for  the  soundings  oa  the  chart  presented.  In 
their  view,  also,  no  extension  beyond  the  line  of  1650  feet  from 
the  high-water  mark  should  be  permitted,  unless  the  party  or  par- 
ties so  extending  should  be  under  obligation  to  excavate  to  the 
depth  above  specified,  from  the  end  of  his  or  their  structure  to 
deep  water,  and  to  cut  off  the  northerly  point  of  the  flats  outside 
of  the  line  drawn  for  enclosure  from  Fort  Point  channel  to  the^ 
main  ship  channel.  In  order  to  be  certain  of  the  practicability  of 
such  an  excavation,  the  commissioners  have  had  the  whole  area  o£ 
flats,  beyond  the  line  of  100  rods  from  high  water  mark,  carefully 
sounded  by  men  of  experience  in  such  work,  and  they  have  found 
nothing  but  strata  of  clay  and  loose  sand,  which  can  be  easily  re- 
moved by  the  excavating  machines  now  in  common  use.  This 
excavation  should  be  made  at  the  expense  of  those  who  may  be 
suffered  to  build  upon  the  flats,  if  such  permission  should  be  given 
to  any  party.  And  it  is  believed  that  the  facilities  and  conveni- 
ence which  such  an  excavation  would  afford  to  vessels  passing  into 
or  out  of  Fort  Point  channel,  at  all  times  of  tide,  would  fully  com- 
pensate the  owners  of  wharves  adjoining  that  channel  for  the  loss 
of  the  privilege  of  passing  over  the  flats  with  vessels  of  light 
draught  at  high  water.     It  would  seem  that  these  owners,  if  they 


APPENDIX.  21 

■were  not  thus  secured  against  injury  by  the  change  proposed, 
would  be  entitled  to  an  indemnity  ;  on  the  same  principle  on  which 
they  would  be  entitled  to  compensation  if  a  bridge  should  be 
thrown  across  Fort  Point  channel,  to  connect  any  enclosure  on 
the  flats  with  the  city. 

"  In  regard  to  the  lower  harbor,  the  quantity  of  water  that  en- 
ters to  cover  this  shoal  of  flats,  extensive  as  it  is,  is  scarcely  appre- 
ciable, when  considered  in  relation  to  the  great  flood  that  approach- 
es from  the  sea  to  fill  the  harbor  at  every  tide.  And,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  commissioners,  the  enclosure  can  produce  no  percep- 
tible efiect  on  the  outer  channels  in  any  way.  If  it  were  other- 
wise, they  would  discourage  any  plan  of  alteration,  believing,  as 
they  do,  that  no  change  should  be  permitted,  that  could  diminish 
the  depth  of  channel  below.  They  have  given  careful  attention  to 
that  subject,  and,  after  personal  examination  of  the  points  of  dan- 
ger, they  present  some  considerations  that  seem  to  them  impor- 
tant in  framing  any  measures  that  may  be  proposed  for  the 
security  of  the  harbor.  In  making  laws  that  are  intended  for  this 
purpose,  a  careful  discrimination  of  the  causes  from  which  injury 
proceeds,  and  intelligence  in  applying  the  remedy,  are  peculiarly 
necessary.  Otherwise,  as  has  been  the  case  heretofore,  onerous 
restrictions  may  be  imposed,  that  have  no  tendency  to  stop  the 
mischief;  and  the  community  are  left  under  false  security,  in  the 
belief  that  nothing  more  is  necessary,  when,  in  truth,  nothing  has 
been  efibcted. 

"  Some  of  the  islands  and  headlands  in  the  harbor  are  gradually 
wasting  away  by  the  action  of  the  sea,  and  some  of  the  shoals  are 
found  to  be  increasing.  One  change  is  probably  the  cause  of  the 
other.  The  earth  and  small  stones,  that  are  loosened  from  the 
headlands,  are  carried  by  the  currents  and  lodged  upon  the  adja- 
cent shoals,  which  are  generally  extended  by  these  additions. 
Whenever  this  waste  of  the  headlands  is  stopped,  by  suitable  pro- 
tection from  the  sea,  the  increase  of  the  shoals  must  cease,  since 
the  materials  by  which  they  are  extended  will  no  longer  be  sup- 
plied. In  the  meantime,  the  removal  of  small  stones  for  ballast 
from  the  headlands  must  be  injurious,  as  it  hastens  their  waste. 
But  the  removal  of  such  stones  from  the  shoals  to  which  they 
have  been  carried  by  the  action  of  the  current,  after  being  de- 
tached from  the  headland,  can  do  no  injury.  It  may  rather  be 
beneficial,  by  retarding  the  increase  of  shoals,  if  it  diminishes 
what  aids  to  form  them. 

"A  more  particular  description  of  these  changes,  and  their 
causes,  is  as  follows  :  The  elements  which  combine  to  destroy  or 
waste  the  islands  and  headlands  above  referred  to,  are  the  waters 
of  the  ocean,  agitated  by  strong  winds  and  storms,  and  the  vari- 
ous tidal  currents,     These  elements  act  upon  the  headlands  some- 


22  APPENDIX. 

what  in  tlie  following  manner.  Almost  every  island  and  headland 
is  more  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  waves,  when  the  wind  blows 
from  some  particular  quarter  or  point  of  the  compass,  than  when 
it  blows  in  any  other  direction.  If  the  wind  to  which  the  coast  is 
most  exposed  be  a  prevailing  wind,  and,  at  the  same  time,  has  a 
tendency  to  increase  the  height  of  tides  when  it  blows  strongly  for 
any  considerable  length  of  time,  its  destructive  operations  will  be 
greater  than  if  its  tendency  were  to  prevent  high  tides ;  as  the 
action  of  the  waves,  during  the  full  spring  tides,  has  a  more  de- 
structive influence  than  during  the  neap  tides.  For  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  our  views,  we  will  suppose  the  shores  of  an  island, 
or  headland,  to  be  of  two  or  three  miles  in  extent,  extending  in  a 
north  and  south  direction,  and  more  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
waves  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  northeast,  than  from  any 
other  quarter.  We  will  now  suppose  the  northeast  wind  to  be  a 
prevailing  wind  upon  the  coast,  and  frequently  blowing  very 
heavy.  It  will  be  obvious  to  every  person,  who  has  witnessed  the 
dashing  of  heavy  waves  upon  a  beach  or  shore,  that  the  tendency 
of  each  successive  wave  is  to  move  the  sand  and  small  shingle, 
upon  the  surface  of  the  beach  in  the  direction  in  which  the  wave 
itself  rolls  ;  and  the  tendency  of  the  under-tow,  as  it  is  called,  is 
to  roll  or  wash  the  shingle  and  sand,  in  a  line  at  a  right  angle 
with  the  direction  of  the  beach,  towards  the  ocean,  or  low-water 
mark.  A  succeeding  wave  again  rolls  it  obliquely  towards  high- 
water  mark  ;  when  the  under-tow  again  takes  it  back  in  a  perpen- 
dicular direction.  The  action  of  successive  waves,  continued  for 
any  considerable  length  of  time,  particularly  if  aided  by  a  tidal 
current,  will  remove  the  shingle  and  sand,  composing  the  surface 
of  the  beach,  from  the  northerly  end  of  the  island,  or  headland, 
towards  the  south,  until  the  shingle  is  nearly,  if  not  all,  swept  off, 
leaving  the  finer  and  lighter  particles  of  the  primitive  earth  ex- 
posed to  the  action  of  the  waves.  This  action  will  mix  them  with 
the  waters  of  the  ocean  ;  and  they  will  be  taken  away  by  the  tidal 
currents,  and  be  gradually  deposited,  in  proportion  to  their  specific 
gravities,  the  minuteness  of  their  division,  and  the  motion  or  agi- 
tation of  the  water  in  which  they  are  suspended.  Long  continued 
operations  of  this  kind  will  undermine  the  headland  banks,  and 
cause  them  to  tumble  into  the  sea ;  the  grosser  particles  covering 
the  beach  with  sand  and  shingle,  while  the  finer  parts  are  mixed 
with  the  waters,  and  taken  away  in  the  manner  above-mentioned. 
In  this  manner,  will  the  sand  and  shingle-gravel  continue  to  be 
swept  along  the  beach,  until  they  reach  the  end  of  it.  They  will 
not  remain  at  rest,  until  they  arrive  at  a  point  beyond  the  influ- 
ence of  the  waves.  There  they  will  form  shoals,  and  frequently 
beaches  of  great  length.  Sometimes  these  operations  are  some- 
what counteracted  by  the  equal  exposnre  of  the  headlands  to 


APPENDIX.  23 

•winds  having  opposite  effects.  The  sand,  in  this  case,  will  be 
sometimes  moved  in  one  direction,  and  sometimes  in  another. 
The  tendency  "will  be,  to  afford  a  more  constant  covering  of  the 
beach  with  sand  and  gravel,  which  constitute  its  natural  protec- 
tion against  the  wasting  influence  of  the  waves.  In  cases  of  this 
sort,  the  effect  is,  usually,  the  formation  of  two  shoals  and  beaches 
one  at  each  end,  of  the  headland.  In  the  winter  season,  when  the 
northerly  winds  prevail,  the  shoals  at  the  south  will  increase  ;  and 
in  summer,  when  the  southerly  winds  prevail,  the  shoals  at  the 
north  will  increase. 

"  The  commissioners,  entertaining  the  views  above  expressed, 
believe  that  the  unfavorable  changes  which  are  going  on  in  the 
harbor,  are  not  of  a  nature  to  be  affected  by  any  new  structure 
that  may  be  erected  on  the  flats  lying  in  front  of  South  Boston  ; 
the  outward  changes  having  been  probably  produced  solely  by 
causes  that  have  arisen  in  the  lower  harbor  itself.  They  believe 
those  causes,  however,  to  demand  serious  and  early  attention, 
beginning,  as  they  appear  to  do,  with  the  waste  of  headlands  on 
which  the  security  of  our  navigation  depends,  and  requiring  only 
suitable  defences  and  short  breakwaters  to  preserve  the  channels. 

"  In  respect  to  a  plan  for  the  occupation  of  the  flats  in  question, 
the  commissioners  suppose  that  it  would  be  premature,  and  of 
little  use,  to  present  any  design  or  drawing  in  detail,  until  it  shall 
be  decided  whether  the  right  to  occupy  that  portion  of  the  area 
which  remains  under  the  control  of  the  Commonwealth,  is  to  be 
united  with  the  property  on  the  margin  of  South  Boston.  To 
leave  an  open  passage  between  that  margin  and  an  insulated  en- 
closure upon  the  flats,  might  be  injurious  to  Fort  Point  channel, 
by  diminishing  the  volume  of  water  that  scours  it  towards  its 
mouth.  But,  with  this  exception,  they  believe  that  any  plan 
which  may  be  found  most  convenient  for  commercial  purposes, 
whenever  more  accommodation  is  required,  may  probably  be 
adopted  without  injury  to  navigation,  whether  it  be  by  an  entire 
enclosure  in  sea-walls,  approaching  within  a  moderate  distance 
of  the  channel,  or  by  the  extension  of  wharves  from  the  South 
Boston  shore  towards  the  main  channel,  after  that  shore  shall  itself 
have  been  advanced  forward  upon  the  flats,  by  filling  up. 

"  In  the  present  state  of  the  title  to  the  property,  therefore, 
they  present  no  plan  in  detail.  Nor  can  the  commissioners  assume 
the  responsibility  of  expressing  an  opinion  at  all  favorable  to  a 
change  of  such  magnitude  in  the  harbor,  without  referring  to  some 
considerations  that  were  presented  in  the  legislative  report  wliich 
recommended  their  appointment. 

"  Although  the  title  to  these  flats  is  clearly  in  the  Common- 
wealth, it  is  held  in  trust  for  the  benefit  and  security  of  commerce ; 


24  APPENDIX. 

being  a  right  to  the  ground  only,  ^yhile  the  right  of  passage  over 
it  is  common  to  every  individual  in  the  community.  No  instance 
is  known  in  which  the  sovereign  power  of  a  state  has  put  property 
of  this  nature  into  the  market  for  sale.  It  may  prove  to  be  a 
question  of  serious  consequence,  whether  the  change  proposed  is 
to  be  made  under  the  direction  of  a  controlling  power  that  regards 
the  security  of  navigation  as  the  object  paramount  in  importance, 
or  whether  the  rights  of  the  Commonwealth  are  to  be  transferred 
to  parties  who  look  for  a  pecuniary  gain,  from  speculation  in  this 
property,  as  the  chief  object  of  consideration.  If  these  rights  are 
to  be  transferred  at  all,  the  city  of  Boston,  whose  interests  are 
inseparable  from  those  of  navigation,  would  seem  to  be  the  safest 
and  most  suitable  depository  of  a  trust  that  concerns  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  State  and  the  commerce  of  the  Union." 


The  Sixth  Commission,  consisting  of  Messrs.  S.  S.  Lewis 
and  Ezra  Lincoln,  Jr.,  having  been  appointed  by  Governor 
Briggs,  under  the  resolve  of  the  Legislature,  passed  April  7, 
1847,  "  relating  to  the  survey  of  Boston  Harbor,"  were 
authorized  and  directed  by  an  additional  resolve,  passed 
May  10,  1848, 

"  To  define,  upon  a  plan,  or  plans,  such  lines,  in  that  portion  of 
the  harbor  of  Boston,  lying  between  East  Boston  and  Chelsea,  and 
known  as  Chelsea  Creek,  as  they  shall  think  expedient  to  estab- 
lish, beyond  which  no  wharves  or  other  structure  shall  be  extend- 
ed into  and  over  the  tide-waters  of  the  Commonwealth  ;  also  to 
ascertain  whether  any  obstructions  are  forming  in  Fort  Point 
Channel,  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  and  whether  any  legislation  is 
necessary  to  prevent  or  remove  the  same. 

"  The  commissioners,  in  regard  to  the  first  requirement  of  the 
above  recited  resolve,  to  define  lines,  &c.,  in  Chelsea  Creek,  after 
an  examination  of  the  same,  with  reference  to  the  rights  of  the 
Commonwealth,  are  of  opinion  that  this  estuary  of  the  harbor  of 
Boston,  obstructed,  as  it  has  been,  by  one  or  two  solid  dams  above 
the  bridge  which  connects  East  Boston  with  Chelsea,  exercises 
but  little  scouring  influence  upon  the  main  channels  of  the  harbor. 
In  deciding,  therefore,  upon  lines  to  which  wharves  might  be  ex- 
tended, Avithout  detriment  to  pubhc  or  private  rights,  the  commis- 
sioners were  governed  mainly  by  a  desire  to  keep  the  present 
channel  in  such  condition,  with  reference  to  width,  &c.,  as  to 


APPENDIX.  25 

accommodate  the  shipping  which  might  hereafter  have  to  pass  into 
and  out  of  said  creek,  and,  at  the  same  time,  reconcile  anj  con- 
flicting views  which  parties,  owning  on  opposite  sides  of  the  creek, 
might  hold. 

"  With  this  view,  and  in  order  to  make  the  entrance  of  the  chan- 
nel easy  of  access,  it  became  necessary  to  keep  the  line  on  the 
East  Boston  side,  opposite  the  ferry  slip  of  the  Winnisimmet  Com- 
pany, above  or  within  low-water  mark  some  distance,  as  represent- 
ed on  the  plan  herewith  presented,  thereby  cutting  off  a  considera- 
ble area  of  the  flats  belonging  to  the  East  Boston  Land  Company. 
This  arrangement,  however,  was  assented  to  by  the  said  company, 
and  a  vote  of  its  directors  was  passed,  sanctioning  the  line,  and, 
m  effect,  making  a  dedication  of  the  area,  so  cut  off,  to  public 
uses. 

"  The  lines  hereinafter  described,  are  beheved  to  be  generally 
satisfactory  to  all  the  riparian  proprietors,  and  entirely  consistent 
with  all  the  public  interests. 

"  In  regard  to  the  second  instruction  recited  in  the  resolve 
passed  May  10th,  1848,  viz.,  *■  to  ascertain  whether  any 
obstructions  are  forming  in  Fort  Point  Channel,  &c.,'  the  com- 
missioners would  observe  that  there  is  a  well  known  bar  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Summei  Street  wharf,  so  called,  and  extending 
nearly  across  the  channel  aforesaid,  so  as  to  leave  but  a  narrow 
passage  at  low-water  near  the  South  Boston  flats  for  vessels  draw- 
ing over  six  feet  of  water.  This  bar  is  indicated  on  the  plan  of 
the  inner  harbor  of  Boston  heretofore  prepared  for  the  Common- 
wealth ;  and  the  commissioners  have  recently  sounded  upon 
various  parts  of  it,  and  found  it  to  be  about  one  hundred  feet  in 
width,  composed  of  soft  clay  four  or  five  feet  in  depth,  covered 
with  a  stratum  of  coarse  gravel.  From  the  nature  of  the  bottom 
of  the  channel,  above  and  below  this  bar,  it  is  believed  that  a 
deposit  of  the  silt  from  the  drains,  which  empty  into  the  docks  in 
this  vicinity,  maj  be  made  about  the  bar.  The  vessels  which  go 
up  the  channel  are  liable,  at  low  water,  to  catch  upon  this  bar, 
and  are  then  obliged  to  wait  for  the  turn  of  the  tide.  As  the  bar 
is,  as  before  suggested,  of  a  nature  to  be  easily  excavated,  the 
commissioners  are  of  opinion  that  it  would  greatly  facilitate  navi- 
gation in  this  channel,  if  it  should  be  removed.  After  it  has 
been  once  removed,  the  water,  which  comes  down  from  South 
Bay,  at  every  ebb  tide,  will  unquestionably  keep  the  channel 
clear  ;  and,  as  it  has  been  proposed  and  recommended  heretofore, 
hj  State  commissioners,  that  the  line  between  Wales's  and  Arch 
Wharves,  should  be  straightened  on  certain  conditions,  the  com- 
missioners would  recommend  that  the  proprietars  of  wharves,  in 
the  vicinity  of  this  line  should,  in  case  it  be  straightened,  and,  when 
they  are  permitted  to  extend  to  it,  be  required  to  remove  this  bar, 
or  obstruction,  in  the  channel." 


26  APPENDIX. 


The  lines  recommended  by  the  Commissioners  were  estab- 
lished by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  May  2,  1849 — they 
are  fully  described  in  the  Ordinances  of  the  City,  pages  166 
to  170,  and  may  be  found  upon  the  plan  attached  to  this 
report.* 


The  seventh  Board  of  Commissioners,  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  Council  under  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature 
passed  May  10,  1848,  — 

"  to  consider  and  report  to  the  next  Legislature  what  are  the 
rights  and  duties  of  the  Commonwealth  in  relation  to  the  flats  in 
the  harbor  of  Boston  ;  —  also  to  consider  whether  the  public  good 
requires  that  any  portion  of  said  flats  should  be  filled,  and  to  what 
extent ;  and  whether  the  maritime  interests  do  now,  or  probably 
may  hereafter,  require  the  excavation  of  any  part  of  them  to 
enlarge  the  harbor  accommodations  ;  —  and  also,  if  it  shall  be 
deemed  expedient  to  fill  any  of  said  flats,  to  report  the  outlines  of 
a  plan  for  that  purpose,  and  the  terms  upon  which  such  filling  up 
should  be  authorized," 

Consisted  of  Messrs.  John  M.  Williams,  David  Cummings, 
Thomas  Hopkinson,  George  S.  Boutwell,  and  Charles  Hud- 
son. 

The  comprehensive  nature  of  the  questions  submitted  to 
the  commissioners  warranted  the  general  view  of  the  subject 
which  is  taken  in  their  report  submitted  in  January,  1850. 

They  discuss  at  length  the  legal  merits  of  the  case,  and 
say,— 

"  The  better  opinion  seems  to  be,  in  England,  that  the  king 
holds  the  land  between  high  and  low  water  mark,  as  well  as  under 
all  navigable  waters,  in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  people  ;  and 
though  he  may  grant  his  private  right  to  others,  it  must  still  be 
subject,  in  the  hands  of  his  grantee,  to  the  right  of  all  his  sub- 
jects to  pass  and  repass,  Avithout  obstruction,  on  both  the  land  and 
water.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that,  in  analogy  to  this 
principle,  the  Commonwealth  holds  the  flats  over  which  its  title 

*Stat.  1850,  Ch.  216,  April  I7ili.  The  Hue  on  Fore  Point  Channel,  betwjen 
Wales's  wharf  and  xVrch  wharf  altered. 

Stat.  1850,  Ch.  254,  April  30th.  An  Act  authorizing:  the  proprietors  of  several 
wharves,  between  Arch  wharf  and  Wales's  wharf  to  extend  to  the  new  line  of 
Fore  Point  Channel,  jirovided  a  certain  bar  in  said  channel,  opposite  the  foot  of 
Summer  street,  be  excavated  to  the  depth  of  twelve  feet  below  low  water,  &c. 


APPENDIX.  27 

extends,  in  trust  for  all  the  people,  and  can  onlj  alienate  them 
subject  to  this  trust.  But  the  analogy  fails  in  two  important  par- 
ticulars. 1st.  The  Commonwealth,  in  its  sovereign  capacity, 
possesses  not  only  the  rights  and  powers,  on  this  subject,  which 
are  possessed  by  the  king  in  England,  but  also  of  the  British  Par- 
liament, consisting  of  king,  lords,  and  commons  ;  and  it  has  never 
been  doubted  that  Parliament,  in  its  arrogated  omnipotence,  may 
grant  an  exclusive  right  to  flats,  unincumbered  by  the  supposed 
trust.  2d.  The  Commonwealth  is  the  pubhc  —  the  people  —  in 
whom,  in  their  collective  capacity,  full  sovereignty  resides.  The 
Commonwealth  is,  therefore,  both  the  trustee  and  the  beneficiary. 
The  trust  estate  and  beneficial  interest  are  united,  and  conse- 
quently the  trust  is  merged  in  the  fee. 

"  Subject  to  the  restrictions  and  limitations  before  mentioned, 
the  Commonwealth  has  the  full  power,  title  and  control  of  the  flats 
in  Boston  harbor.  The  right  to  manage  and  dispose  of  them  is, 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth,  vested  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. The  Commonwealth  may,  by  the  acts  and  at  the  discretion 
of  the  Legislature,  cause  or  permit  them  to  be  excavated  or 
embanked,  or  retained,  or  otherwise  disposed  of.  It  may  grant 
them  to  the  city,  to  the  riparian  proprietors,  or  to  other  per- 
sons or  corporations,  at  such  times,  in  such  manner,  on  such 
terms  and  conditions,  and  for  such  considerations  of  public  benefit, 
pecuniary  or  otherwise,  as  the  Legislature,  in  the  exercise  of  its 
sound,  constitutional  discretion,  may  judge  to  be  most  proper,  and 
most  conducive  to  the  public  interest  and  welfare." 

In  considering  the  "  duties  of  the  Commonwealth,"  they 
pass  in  review  the  reports  of  the  several  preceding  commis- 
sioners ;  and  although  they  agree  with  their  predecessors  in 
general  positions,  and  adopt  the  most  of  their  conclusions, 
they  differ  from  them  entirely  in  regard  to  the  policy  to  be 
pursued,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  extracts,  viz. : — 

"  If  the  South  Bay  were  kept  open  to  its  full  extent,  a  sea  wall 
upon  the  easterly  side  of  Fore  Point  Channel  might  quicken  the 
current  in  that  channel,  and  so  increase  its  depth.  But  as  the 
greater  part  of  that  spacious  bay  is,  or  will  be,  closed  so  as  to 
exclude  the  water  which  has  heretofore  entered  it,  we  are  unable 
to  perceive  why  the  same  causes  which  are  allowed  to  operate  in 
other  parts  of  the  harbor,  may  not  operate  here  to  the  injury  of 
this  channel.  Nor  are  we  able  to  see  how  a  sea  wall  on  the  east- 
erly side  of  this  channel  can  avert  the  calamity,  in  case  South 
Bay  should  be  filled  up.  In  that  case,  there  would  be  a  little 
more  than  a  narrow  channel  left  open  above  the  South  Boston 
bridges,  and  no  water  would  pass  up  Fore  Point  Channel,  except 


^W  APPENDIX. 

what  would  be  required  to  fill  the  narrow  channel  ahove  the 
bridges. 

"  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  certain  that  filling  up  all  the  South 
Boston  flats,  —  a  tract  of  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  acres,  now 
covered  by  water,  at  every  tide,  to  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  feet, 
will  not  prove  injurious  to  the  main  channels  in  the  harbor.  It 
was  in  evidence  before  the  commissioners  that  there  had  been  a 
great  reduction  in  the  depth  of  Fore  Point  Channel,  and  also  in 
the  main  ship  channel  both  in  the  upper  and  lower  harbor.  At 
the  '  Narrows,'  so  called,  in  the  lower  harbor,  it  was  shown  that 
the  water  had  shoaled  from  three  to  five  feet  within  the  last  twen- 
ty or  thirty  years ;  and  that  though  this  was  ascribed  in  a  good 
degree  to  the  washing  away  of  the  islands  and  headlands  in  the 
outer  harbor,  the  same  accretion  is  observable  in  the  upper  har- 
bor, where  these  causes  do  not  exist.  In  Fore  Point  Channel,  at 
the  '  Upper  Middle,'  and  indeed  in  almost  every  part  of  the  harbor, 
the  channels  are  becoming  more  obstructed  by  becoming  more 
shoal  or  more  narrow.  It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  at  the 
wharves  and  in  the  docks  there  is  a  constant  accretion  of  matter, 
so  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  dredge  them  out  once  in  four  or 
five  years. 

"  But  the  arguments  against  filling  up  these  flats  are  met  by 
the  declaration,  —  that  the  quantity  of  water  which  would  be  dis- 
placed by  the  proposed  improvements,  would  be  so  small  as  to  be 
hardly  appreciable  upon  the  main  currents  in  the  harbor.  But  a 
glance  at  what  has  been  done,  and  what  may  be  done,  by  the 
shore  owners,  will  show  that  the  quantity  of  water  which  has 
been  and  may  be  displaced  is  far  from  being  inconsiderable.  Bos- 
ton proper,  which  originally  contained  less  than  1000  acres,  now 
contains  more  than  3000  acres.  This  increase  of  more  than  2000 
acres  has  all  been  made  by  encroachments  upon  tide  water.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  Mill  Dam  cut  ofi"  700  or  800  acres  more  ;  — 
to  this  may  be  added  the  large  quantity  of  land  made  at  Cam- 
bridge, Charlestown,  Chelsea,  and  East  Boston.  Here  we  have 
an  area  of  several  thousand  acres  which  are  forever  lost  to  the 
harbor.  This  exclusion  of  tide  water  from  so  large  a  surface,  has 
produced  a  sensible  efiect  upon  the  channels  in  the  harbor.  The 
harbor  master  testified  that  the  filUng  up  above  Charles  Kiver 
Bridge,  has  produced  a  visible  efiect  upon  the  current  between 
Boston  and  East  Boston.  By  reducing  the  volume  of  water  from 
Charles  River,  the  former  balance  of  power  between  the  currents 
from  the  Charles  and  Mystic  Rivers  at  their  confluence,  had  been 
destroyed  ;  and  the  consequence  Avas,  that  the  main  current  be- 
tween Boston  and  East  Boston  was  brought  nearer  to  the  Boston 
shore  than  it  was  formerly. 

"  But  we  are  not  to  confine  our  attention  to  the  three  or  four 
thousand  acres  of  flats  which  have  been  already  irrevocably  lost 


APPENDIX. 


29 


to  the  harbor.  By  the  report  of  Messrs.  Hayward  and  Lincohi, 
in  1846,  it  appears  that  at  that  time  the  tide  flowed  over  an  area 
of  5000  acres  above  the  Charles  River,  Chelsea  and  South  Bos- 
ton bridges  ;  and  of  this  6000  acres,  2700  were  above  low  w^ater 
mark,  and  so  were  liable  to  be  filled  up  by  the  shore  owners, 
leaving  only  about  2300  acres  to  be  flowed  by  the  tides.  It 
should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  every  acre  of  the  flats  situated 
just  above  low  water,  is  as  important  to  the  harbor,  and  receives 
and  discharges  as  much  water,  as  an  acre  in  the  deepest  channel ; 
it  being  only  the  water  between  high  and  low  water  mark  which 
carries  on  the  scouring  process,  by  which  the  channels  are  kept 
open,  "When  we  are  called  upon  to  decide  whether  it  would  be 
safe  to  fill  up  eight  or  nine  hundred  acres  in  front  of  South  Bos- 
ton, we  are  to  remember  that  one-half  of  this  area  may  be  filled 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  shore  owners  ;  and  the  real  question  to  be 
decided  is,  whether  the  State  should,  at  the  present  time,  author- 
ize the  filling  up  of  some  four  hvmdred  acres  more,  in  addition  to 
the  five  or  six  hundred  acres  at  South  and  East  Boston,  and  the 
twenty-seven  hundred  acres  above  the  bridges,  all  of  which  may 
be  filled  by  their  respective  owners,  and  much  of  which  will  proba- 
bly be  filled,  as  the  demand  for  land  is  constantly  increasing. 

"  When  the  subject  is  stripped  of  all  its  disguises,  and  is  pre- 
sented in  its  naked  form,  we  are  inclined  to  hesitate  before  we 
pronounce  in  favor  of  filling  up  the  flats  over  which  the  State  has 
control.  When  the  safety  of  the  harbor  is  placed  in  competition 
with  any  magnificent  scheme  of  land  speculation,  we  must  decide 
in  favor  of  what  we  believe  to  be  the  safety  of  the  harbor.  When 
we  consider,  that  a  volume  of  water,  of  an  average  depth  of  at 
least  seven  feet,  covering  an  area  larger  than  the  whole  city  of 
Boston  proper,  is  now  liable  to  be  excluded  from  the  harbor,  we 
want  something  more  than  a  mere  speculative  theory  of  tides  and 
channels,  to  justify  us  in  adding  to  this  quantity.  When  we  con- 
sider, that  flats  once  filled  can  never  be  restored  to  harbor  accom- 
modations ;  but  that  flats  kept  open,  can,  at  any  future  period  be 
filled,  when  it  shall  have  been  demonstrated  by  experience,  that 
previous  fillings  have  wrought  no  injury  to  the  harbor,  —  we 
believe  it  to  be  the  dictate  of  wisdom  to  pause  before  we  make 
any  further  grants,  except  they  be  accompanied  with  an  obligation 
to  make  corresponding  excavations,  or  other  improvements,  in  the 
harbor." 

They  submit  a  variety  of  statistics  and  think,  — 

"  These  facts  will  fully  sustain  the  position  that  our  commerce 
has  tripled  in  the  space  of  twenty  years.  And  if  the  commerce 
of  Boston  is  to  go  on  increasing  in  this  ratio,  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  the  flats  will  be  wanted  for  dockage  and  anchorage 


30 


APPENDIX. 


of  the  vessels,  which  our  growing  trade  will  call  into  this  port. 
And  even  now  these  flats  are  used  by  vessels  of  a  light  draft  of 
water.  The  eastern  coasters,  with  wood  and  lumber,  frequently 
pass  across  the  flats  at  high  water.  And  it  was  in  evidence  be- 
fore the  commissioners,  that  during  periods  of  easterly  winds, 
when  it  is  difficult  to  go  to  sea,  there  are  frequently  several  hun- 
dreds of  these  small  vessels,  mostly  from  Maine  and  the  British 
Provinces,  lying  in  the  harbor  ;  and,  owing  to  the  crowded  state 
of  the  channel,  large  numbers  of  them  resort  to  the  soft  mud  on 
the  flats,  for  anchorage;  —  a  fact  that  shows  most  conclusively, 
that  fifty,  or  even  twenty  years  hence,  the  very  space  which  it  is 
now  proposed  to  fill  up,  will  become  absolutely  necessary  to  accom- 
modate the  vessels  in  the  harbor.  The  extreme  line  which  has 
been  recommended,  which  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  we  will  call 
Mr.  Carey's  line,  not  only  allows  all  the  South  Boston  flats  to  be 
filled,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  point  opposite  Rowe's  wharf, 
but  actually  cuts  off  nearly  two  hundred  acres  below  low  water 
mark  ;  —  the  greater  portion  of  which,  as  shown  by  the  soundings, 
has  a  depth,  at  extreme  low  water,  of  from  three  to  four  feet,  — 
while  some  portions  of  the  harbor,  thus  proposed  to  be  cut  off, 
have  a  depth  of  from  four  to  seven  feet ;  and  to  these  soundings 
we  may  add  two  feet,  to  show  the  depth  at  mean  low  water. 
Here  there  are  nearly  two  hundred  acres,  well  adapted  to  the 
anchorage  of  these  small  coasters,  which  it  has  been  proposed  to 
fill  up ;  but  which,  we  are  satisfied,  will,  in  a  few  years,  become 
almost  indispensably  necessary  for  this  class  of  vessels.  We, 
therefore,  should  regard  it  as  a  departure  from  the  dictates  of 
true  wisdom,  to  suffer  any  embankment  or  structure  to  be  erected 
upon  any  of  the  harbor  belonging  to  the  State,  which  can  be  used 
as  a  roadstead,  or  converted  into  wet  docks. 

"  We  have  already  stated  what  we  believe  to  be  the  rights  of 
the  Commonwealth,  in  the  flats  situated  between  the  one  hundred- 
rod  line  and  the  channel.  We  have  no  doubt  but  that  she  has  an 
interest,  a  vendible  property,  in  these  flats,  which  she  may  dispose 
of  as  she  pleases,  under  the  limitations  we  have  stated.  And 
what  is  true  of  the  flats  in  Boston  harbor,  is  true  of  the  flats  simi- 
larly situated,  in  every  other  harbor  in  the  State.  The  question 
is  not  local  in  its  character,  but  is  coextensive  with  our  coast.  It 
is  a  subject  in  which  the  whole  State  has  an  equal  interest,  and 
hence  the  impolicy  and  injustice  of  granting  these  flats  to  individ- 
uals or  corporations,  without  consideration.  Neither  the  riparian 
owners,  nor  the  city  or  town  within  whose  territorial  limits  they 
may  happen  to  be  situated,  can  claim  them  in  virtue  of  their 
proximity.  They  belong  to  the  State,  and  are  the  property  of 
the  whole  people. 

"  But  though  the  State  possesses  this  property,  and  the  Legis- 
lature may  dispose  of  it  as  they  please,  they  are  bound  by  every 
consideration  of  sound  pohcy  to  make  such  a  disposition  of  these 


APPENDIX.  31 

flats  as  will  best  promote  the  prosperity  and  general  welfare  of  the 
community. 

"  Nor  will  they,  as  guardians  of  the  public  weal,  confine  their 
views  to  the  present  condition  of  things.  Any  policy  which  does 
not  look  forward  at  least  a  century,  and  consider  the  wants  of  the 
people  at  the  end  of  that  period,  is  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  the 
age,  and  so  dishonorable  to  the  character  of  this  Commonwealth. 
While  the  present  wants  of  the  people  should  be  provided  for, 
their  future  prosperity  and  welfare  should  not  be  overlooked.  A 
system  should  be  adopted,  in  the  disposition  of  this  property, 
which  will  meet  the  wants  of  the  present  generation,  and  at  the 
same  time  subserve  the  interest  of  those  who  come  after  us.  If 
the  State,  actuated  by  a  narrow  and  parsimonious  policy,  should 
dispose  of  this  property  to  individuals,  and  put  the  avails  into  her 
own  treasury,  in  a  short  time  this  money  would  be  expended,  and 
so  be  forever  lost  to  the  State  ;  while  the  property,  passing  into 
private  hands,  would  be  appropriated,  to  the  perpetual  injury  of 
the  harbor,  and  consequent  detriment  of  the  commerce  of  the 
Commonwealth.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  Legislature  should 
hold  this  property  in  their  own  hands,  to  be  appropriated  from 
time  to  time  for  the  improvement  of  the  harbor  and  the  promotion 
of  commerce,  a  perpetual  benefit  would  be  conferred  upon  the 
whole  people. 

"  We  regard  this  interest  in  the  flats  as  a  sort  of  marine  invest- 
ment for  the  benefit  of  the  State,  which  should  be  managed  with 
a  sole  reference  to  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  whole  people. 
Nor  is  this  a  partial  or  local  view  of  the  subject.  Though  these 
flats  do  not  belong,  as  property,  to  the  county  of  Sufiblk,any 
more  than  to  the  county  of  Berkshire,  yet  it  is  the  prosperity  of 
Boston  which  has  given  a  value  to  this  property,  and  contributed 
to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  State.  And  though  the  disposi- 
tion of  these  flats  which  we  have  indicated  might,  in  the  first 
instance,  be  more  productive  to  the  interest  of  Boston  and  its 
vicinity  than  to  the  rest  of  the  Commonwealth,  its  beneficial 
efiects  would  soon  be  realized  by  the  people  at  large.  Boston  is 
not  only  the  political  but  the  commercial  capital  of  the  State  ; 
and  whatever  increases  her  commercial  prosperity,  confers  a  direct 
benefit  upon  the  whole  people,  by  creating  a  market,  and  increas- 
ing the  demand  for  labor,  and  for  every  article  that  labor  can 
produce.  The  commercial  prosperity  of  the  city  increases  the 
amount  of  taxable  property  in  the  State,  and  gives  rise  to  those 
moneyed  institutions  and  business  transactions  from  which  the 
State  derives  its  principal. revenue.  This  commercial  prosperity 
also  gives  an  impulse  to  our  manufacturing  and  mechanical  indus- 
try, thereby  creating  a  market  for  agricultural  products,  not  only 
in  our  cities,  but  in  every  village  throughout  the  State.  If  the 
Legislature,  to  realize  a  present  pecuniary  advantage,  should  dis- 
pose of  all  the  flats  in  which  the  State  has  an  interest,  and  should 


32  APPENDIX. 

suffer  tliem  to  be  filled,  to  the  ruin  of  the  channel,  and  commerce 
should  desert  the  city,  the  withering  effects  would  soon  be  felt  in 
the  business  prosperity  of  the  whole  State ;  and  our  young  men 
would  leave  our  rugged  hills  and  ungenial  climate,  to  seek  in 
other  States  that  employment  which  their  own  denied  them.  If 
the  Legislature,  therefore,  look  to  the  permanent  welfare  of  the 
whole  people,  they  cannot,  in  our  estimation,  make  a  better  or 
wiser  disposition  of  them  than  to  dedicate  them  to  the  interest  of 
commerce.  The  treasure  is  found  in  the  deep  ;  and  let  it  be  so 
appropriated  that  that  deep  may  bear  upon  its  surface,  and  bring 
to  our  shores,  the  more  useful  treasures  of  which  we  may  all  par- 
take. But  though  we  should  regard  it  as  unwise,  and  unjust  to 
one  portion  of  the  community,  to  grant  these  flats  to  an  individual 
or  corporation,  without  consideration,  yet  we  would  recommend 
that  a  liberal  policy  be  adopted  ;  and  if  any  portion  of  them  can 
be  filled  without  detriment  to  the  harbor,  grants  should  be  made 
upon  terms  so  favorable  as  to  encourage  enterprize,  and  ensure 
the  completion  of  the  work,  that  thereby  an  additional  amount  of 
property  may  be  created,  to  sustain,  by  taxation  and  otherwise, 
the  interests  of  the  people. 

"  We  believe  that  the  growing  commerce  of  the  city  will,  with- 
in fifty  years,  require  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  harbor ;  and 
that  nothing  should  be  filled  which  is  capable,  by  excavation,  of 
being  converted,  at  a  reasonable  expense,  into  wet  docks  or  road- 
steads." 

Following  out  this  idea,  the  commissioners  propose  a  line 
which  they  say  will  save  to  the  harbor  about  450  acres,  that 
Mr.  Carey's  line  would  allow  to  be  filled.  They  also  recom- 
mend the  excavation  of  the  flats  below  the  proposed  line, 
suggest  a  system  of  wet  docks,  and  present  a  sketch  of  the 
same  prepared  by  W.  P.  Parrott,  Esq.,  engineer. 

"  The  flats  in  the  harbor  of  Boston  seem  admirably  adapted  to 
the  purpose  of  wet  docks.  In  the  first  place,  they  are  situated 
near  the  centre  of  busuiess,  which  cannot  be  said  of  the  Atlantic 
Docks  in  New  York.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  destroy  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  land  covered  with  buildings,  as  was  the  case 
at  Liverpool  and  London.  With  us,  the  flats,  at  present,  are  use- 
less ;  and,  by  converting  them  into  wet  docks,  a  large  amount  of 
land  will  be  created,  suitable  for  warehouses.  Such  docks  would 
answer  the  double  purpose  of  land  and  water,  —  giving  an  ad- 
ditional amount  of  wharf-room  and  storehouses,  and  at  the  same 
time  afibrding  the  largest  accommodation  for  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor.  Besides,  that  portion  of  the  harbor  is  somewhat  exposed 
to  easterly  winds,  and  the  sea  wall  enclosing  the  docks  would  act 
as  a  break  water,  and  so  protect,  not  only  the  ships  in  the  docks, 


APPENDIX. 


33 


but  those  in  tlie  upper  portion  of  Fore  Point  Channel.  Nor 
"^ould  the  advantages  be  confined  to  the  harbor.  By  excavating 
the  flats  in  front  of  Fore  Point  Channel,  all  that  portion  of  the 
city  from  India  wharf  to  Summer  Street  wharf,  would  be  brought 
directly  to  deep  water,  and  the  value  of  property  in  that  part  of 
the  city  would  be  greatly  increased. 

"  Another  advantage  resulting  from  such  improvement  in  this 
part  of  the  harbor  is  this  :  —  it  would  open  a  more  direct  com- 
munication between  our  railroads  and  deep  water.  The  Lowell, 
Fitchburg,  Maine,  and  Eastern  railroads  enter  the  northern  part 
of  the  city,  and  can  find  deep  water  in  that  region  of  Boston  or 
Charlestown,  or  by  the  Grand  Junction  Railroad,  of  East  Boston. 
Bat  the  Old  Colony,  Worcester,  and  Providence  roads  enter  th3 
city  in  the  southerly  section,  and  hence  would  be  accommodated 
by  a  connection  with  deep  water  on  Fore  Point  Channel.  The 
prospective  growth  of  our  inland  trade,  makes  it  highly  important 
that  improvements  be  made  in  every  part  of  the  harbor,  which 
will  facilitate  that  valuable  part  of  our  trade." 

In  reference  to  the  flats  in  Mystic  River,  the  Commissioners 
say,— 

"  There  is  another  considerable  portion  of  flats  in  Mystic  River, 
between  Maiden  and  Chelsea  bridges,  a  grant  of  which  has  been 
asked  by  the  citizens  of  Charlestown.     This  tract  contains  about 
one  hundred  acres.     These  flats  not  only  belong  to  the  Common- 
wealth, but  their  title  is  embarrassed  by  no  water  rights  of  the 
riparian  owners.     By  the  law  of  1641,  no  proprietor  was  allowed 
to  cross  any  creek  or  channel ;  and,  as  there  is  a  channel  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  and  these  flats  are  situated  between  the  channels, 
they  cannot  legally  be  claimed  by  the  shore  owners,  on  either  side 
of  the  river.     The  commissioners  are  inclined  to  the  opinion,  that 
these  flats  might  be  filled,  and  the  navigation  of  the  river  there- 
by improved.     They  were,  however,  inclined  to  believe,  that  the 
plan  proposed,  extended  too  far  below  Chelsea  Bridge  into  the 
channel.     And  they  had  some  apprehension,  that  confining  the 
flow  of  the  water  to  the  Chelsea  shore,  might  produce  an   eddy, 
and  cause  a  deposit  on  the  flats  near  the  navy  yard,  to  the  injury 
of  that  establishment,  and  of  navigation  in  that  part  of  the  harbor. 
But  if  the  Legislature,  in  their  wisdom,   should  see  fit  to  make 
this  grant  for  sufficient  consideration,  they  should  provide  that  the 
material  to  fill  the  flats  to  the  height  of  extreme  high  water,  should 
be  taken  from  the  marshes  above,  between  high  and  low  water 
marks,  so  that  the  river  should  be  capable  of  receiving  and   dis- 
charging as  large  a  quantity  of  tide  water  as  at  present.     The 
materials   should  be   taken  under  the   direction  of  some   skilful 
person,  appointed  by  the  government,  wdio  should  see  that  it  be 


34  APPENDIX. 

taken,  not  only  between  high  and  low  water,  but  at  such  points, 
and  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  river  ; 
and  that  the  parts  excavated,  be  so  situated  as  not  to  be  liable  to 
fill  up  with  sediment.  The  company  should  also  be  recjuired  to 
excavate  the  flats  below  their  embankment  to  the  channel, — and 
to  keep  the  flats,  the  channel  of  the  river,  and  the  marshes  so 
excavated,  open  to  a  given  depth.  These  precautions  appear  to 
the  commissioners  to  be  indispensably  necessary  to  the  safety  of 
the  harbor,  and  the  Legislature  would  be  false  to  the  trust  reposed 
in  them,  to  make  a  grant  without  securing  the  performance  of 
these,  or  similar  duties,  in  the  most  ample  manner." 

They  also  consider  the  subject  of  the  flats  in  the  Back 
Bay.  No  extracts  are  made  from  that  part  of  the  report,  as 
those  flats  are  undoubtedly  lost  for  every  valuable  purpose 
to  the  harbor.  The  Commissioners,  however,  travel  a  little 
out  of  their  way  to  say, — 

"  They  (the  Water  Power  Company,)  have  also,  by  contract 
or  compromise,  permitted  the  reservoir  to  be  abridged  to  a  large 
extent,  by  the  city  of  Boston,  who  seem  never  to  have  hesitated 
to  give  precedence  to  the  proprietary  right  of  making  land  for 
sale,  over  the  commercial  value  of  flats  and  tide  waters  to  the 
harbor." 

The  conclusion  is  as  follows, — 

"  The  commissioners  would  respectfully  recommend  to  the 
Legislature,  to  retain  in  their  own  hands,  all  such  portions  of 
these  flats  as  are  not  imperiously  demanded  by  the  present  wants 
of  the  community.  Let  not  the  plea  that  the  flats  arc  wanted  for 
building  purposes,  or  that  the  harbor  is  ample  to  meet  the  present 
and  future  wants  of  commerce,  induce  the  Legislature  to  grant 
to  individuals  or  corporations  what,  at  no  distant  day,  must  be 
required  by  the  public  for  the  accommodation  of  trade.  Nor 
would  it,  in  our  judgment,  be  wise  to  surrender  these  flats,  or  the 
guardianship  of  them,  to  the  city  of  Boston,  or  in  any  other 
city  or  town  in  which  they  are  located.  It  has  been  recommend- 
ed by  one  commission,  to  surrender  them  to  the  city  of  Boston, — 
which,  it  is  said,  having  the  most  direct  interest,  would  appropri- 
ate them  in  the  wisest  manner  for  the  interest  of  commerce. 
But  we  should  fear  that  the  interest  of  Boston  would  be  too 
direct  for  a  wise  disposition  of  this  property.  The  policy  which 
this  city  is  now  pursuing,  is  fiUing  up  south  Bay,  after  every 
board  of  commissioners  has  reported  that  such  a  course  would 
be  ruinous   to  certain  portions  of  the  harbor,  leads  to  the  appre- 


APPENDIX. 


35 


liension,  that  slie  might  not  prove  the  best  guardian  of  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  the  State. 

"  If  these  flats  were  granted  to  any  of  these  cities,  to  be  ap- 
propriated for  the  public  good,  there  would  be  great  danger  that 
local  considerations  would  control  the  manner  of  their  disposal. 
The  question  of  their  disposition  would  soon  become  a  matter  of 
party  contest,  and  there  would  be  danger  that  present  interest 
would  prevail  over  public  considerations,  and  that  grants  of  an 
impolitic  character  would  be  made.  Grants,  looking  more  to  im- 
mediate income,  than  to  future  growth, — more  to  private  than  to 
public  considerations, — more  to  local  advantage,  than  to  the 
general  welfare. 

"  These  flats  being  the  property  of  the  whole  people, — and  the 
members  of  the  Legislature  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  knoTying  the  wishes  of  their  constituents, — we 
know  of  no  body  so  well  qualified  to  exercise  a  wise  guardianship 
over  this  great  interest  as  the  General  Court.  The  property  is  in 
their  hands  ;  and  there  we  may  safely  trust  it ;  knowing  that  in 
them,  we  have  a  tribunal  as  independent  and  impartial  as  the  lot 
of  humanity  will  admit." 

This  report  was  referred  to  the  Joint  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Legislature,  on  Mercantile  Affairs  and  Insurance,  of 
which  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Seaver,  present  mayor  of  the  city, 
was  chairman. 

The  following  extracts,  made  from  their  report,  in  Senate, 
April  26,  1850,  will  show  that  the  views  of  the  Commission- 
ers v/ere  severely  criticized,  and  particular  attention  is  called 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  unjust  imputation  of  the  Com- 
missioners upon  the  city  of  Boston  is  answered, — 

"  The  commissioners,  if  we  rightly  understand  them,  take  the 
ground,  that  (with  certain  exceptions,  arising  mainly  out  of  the 
ordinance  of  1641,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,) 
the  Commonwealth  has  the  absolute  title  to  the  flats,  both  the 
property  and  every  beneficial  use,  as  fully  as  the  allodial  title  a 
citizen  has  to  his  farm.  Their  reasoning  is  this  :  The  king  held 
the  fee  in  lands,  under  tide  waters,  in  trust,  for  the  use  of  his 
subjects  ;  and  Parliament,  which  represents  the  subjects,  had  the 
control  of  this  trust  and  use  ;  that  the  Commonwealth  succeeds  to 
the  rights  of  both  the  Crown  and  Parliament,  and  the  trust  is, 
therefore,  merged  in  the  fee,  and  the  title  becomes  absolute. 
We  understand  their  opinion,  therefore,  to  be,  that  the  title  of 
the  State  to  the  flats  is  the  same,  as  respects  the  degree  and  kind 


36 


APPENDIX. 


of  property,  with  that  -which  it  holds  in  the  State  House  yard,  the 
ai'senal  lands,  and  in  its  wild  lands  in  Maine  ;  that  they  are  prop- 
erty, to  be  sold,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds put  into  the  treasury,  the  purchaser,  if  not  especially 
restricted,  gaining  the  right  to  fill  up  and  build  upon  them,  except, 
perhaps,  as  against  certain  private  rights  of  riparian  proprietors. 

"  This  is  matter  of  great  consequence  ;  for  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  the  same  rule  applies  to  channels,  and  the  deep  sea, 
within  county  lines,  as  to  the  flats.  We  are  not  ready  to  acqui- 
esce in  this  result,  and  the  reasoning  upon  which  it  rests  seems  to 
us  too  technical.  By  the  law  of  all  civilized  Europe,  before  the 
feudal  system  obtained  in  England,  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
property  in  tide  waters.  Tide  waters  were  res  omnium,  that  is, 
they  were  for  the  common  use,  like  air  and  light.  If  the  sea 
receded,  or  by  the  operation  of  natural  or  artificial  means,  the  sea 
ceased  to  flow  in  certain  spaces,  the  land  under  the  water  would, 
doubtless  go  to  the  abutters,  by  accretion,  or  alluvion.  In  Eng- 
land, the  fiction  of  a  fee  in  the  Crown,  and  the  control  of  the 
trust  in  Parliament,  we  understand  to  have  been  a  mode,  suited 
to  the  times  and  the  genius  of  the  feudal  law,  for  insuring  to  the . 
State  the  control  over  tide  waters.  The  Commonwealth  succeeds 
to  this  right  of  control.  By  its  sovereign  authority,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  public,  it  regulates  the  use  of  tide  waters,  and,  any  title 
it  may  have  in  lands  under  them  is  only  incidental  to  the  tide 
waters,  and  held  for  the  reason,  that  control  over  the  land  is 
necessary  to  the  control  of  the  sea  above  it.  The  property  the 
State  has  in  the  channels  and  harbors,  is  evidently  held  only  upon 
reasons  of  public  policy,  all  depending  upon,  and  arising  out  of 
the  fact,  that  they  are  under  tide  waters.  This  is  not  property 
that  the  State  has  purchased,  or  holds  by  conquest,  as  it  holds  its 
wild  lands,  and  its  State  House,  and  arsenal  yards.  Its  right  is 
simply  a  rule  of  law,  depending  upon  reasons  of  State,  and  when 
the  reason  ceases,  the  rule  should  cease  also.  Whatever  may 
occur  to  its  public  lands,  by  natural  or  artificial  means,  the  prop- 
erty remains  unafiected.  But,  if  the  sea  should  entirely  recede 
from  a  bay  or  basin,  and  the  land  under  it  should  gradually  change 
to  marsh,  and  then  to  upland,  is  it  supposed  that  the  State  would 
own  this  land,  in  its  new  condition,  as  its  absolute  property  ? 
Does  the  State,  at  this  moment,  own  all  the  lands,  now  marsh  or 
uplands,  which  it  ever  held,  as  channels,  or  below  the  ordinance 
line,  from  which  the  sea  has  receded,  since  the  settlement  of  Mas- 
sachusetts ?  If  the  commissioners'  argument  is  sound,  whenever 
a  channel,  within  one  hundred  rods  of  high  water  mark,  fills  up, 
so  as  to  become  part  of  the  flats,  the  title  to  it  is  not  in  the  ripa- 
rian proprietor,  but  in  the  State.  Hoav  far  the  same  rule  should 
apply,  when  the  sea  is  shut  out  by  ai-tificial  means  from  channels, 
or  flats  below  the  ordinance  line,  Ave  are  not  required  to  say.  But 


APPENDIX. 


37 


we  express  our  doubt,  whether  the  Commonwealth  can  disregard 
the  reason  upon  which  its  title  rests,  and  sell  channels  and  har- 
bors to  be  used  for  other  purposes,  putting  the  full  value  of  an 
absolute  title  into  its  treasury.  The  novelty  of  the  doctrine  now 
set  up, — the  fact,  that  no  instance  is  known  in  any  country, 
where  the  sovereign  power  has  undertaken  to  sell  this  species  of 
property,  and  the  universal  practice  of  this  Commonwealth,  from 
our  earliest  history,  must  be  regarded  as  important  considerations 
in  the  discussion  of  such  a  question.  The  fact  of  the  grant  by 
the  ordinance  of  1641,  of  the  flats  before  men's  estates ;  the 
fact,  that  the  Legislature  has  constantly  granted  to  proprietors  the 
right  to  extend  wharves,  without  charge  ;  the  various  acts  in  rela- 
tion to  the  harbors  in  the  State,  all  show  conclusively,  that  the 
policy  of  the  Commonwealth  has  been  entirely  adverse  to  the 
exercise  of  any  such  extreme  right  as  that  now  set  up. 

"  Your  committee  believe,  that  the  exercise  of  any  such  doc- 
trine is  as  inexpedient  as  it  is  unjust.  The  tvJiole  State  is  inter- 
ested in  the  harbors  of  the  Commonwealth.  If  the  idea  is  to  be 
entertained  and  acted  upon,  that  the  flats  in  the  various  harbors 
are  vendible  property,  liable  to  be  put  into  the  market,  sold,  and 
the  proceeds  put  into  the  treasury  of  the  State,  it  will  tend  to 
injure  the  harbors,  by  throwing  the  flats  into  the  hands  of  specu- 
lators, and  thus  introduce  a  new  and  dangerous  element  into  the 
policy  of  the  State.  Your  committee  believe,  that  the  flats  in  all 
the  harbors  of  the  State  should  be  used  only  for  the  benefit  of 
those  harbors.  They  should  be  granted,  not  for  private  benefit, 
not  for  public  economical  result,  but  strictly  for  the  benefit  of  the 
harbors,  where  they  are  situated.  Whenever  a  petition  is  pre- 
sented for  leave  to  occupy  them,  the  single  question  should  be, 
as  it  always  has  been, — will  the  grant  benefit  the  harbor  ?  or, — 
will  the  increased  facilities,  which  will  be  given  to  commerce  and 
commercial  enterprise,  compensate  for  any  slight  detriment  of  the 
harbor  ?  There  may  be  great  public  enterprises  and  improve- 
ments to  carry  out,  for  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  grant  large 
portions  of  flats.  In  such  cases,  if  individuals  or  corporations 
are  to  be  benefited,  the  State  may  stipulate,  that,  as  a  considera- 
tion for  the  grant,  they  shall  make  certain  other  improvements  in 
the  same  harbor.  In  other  words,  the  flats  in  each  and  every 
harbor  of  the  State  should  be  devoted  entirely  to  the  benefit  and 
improvement  of  that  particular  harbor. 

"  The  cit}^  of  Boston  was  represented  before  the  committee,  by 
the  city  solicitor,  and  a  committee  of  the  city  council.  Strong 
exceptions  were  taken  to  those  expressions,  iu  the  report  of  the 
commissioners,  which  refer  to  the  conduct  of  the  city  of  Boston, 
in  relation  to  the  flats  in  Boston  harbor.  Tlius,  the  commission- 
ers, on  page  45,  allude  to  that  city  as  seeming  '  never  to  have 
hesitated  to  give  preference,  to  the  proprietary  right  of  making 


38 


APPENDIX. 


land  for  sale,  over  the  commercial  value  of  flats  and  tide  waters 
to  the  harbor.'  Again,  on  page  46,  '  the  policy  which  the  city  is 
now  pursuing  in  filling  up  South  Bay,  after  every  board  of  com- 
missioners has  reported,  that  such  a  course  would  be  ruinous  to 
certain  portions  of  the  harbor,  leads  to  the  apprehension,  that  she 
might  not  prove  the  best  guardian  of  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  State. 

"  In  regard  to  the  remark  first  above  quoted,  the  counsel  for 
the  city  denied  that  there  was  any  evidence,  whatever,  furnished 
by  the  commissioners,  to  sustain  it,  nor  was  there  any  such  evi- 
dence in  existence.  He  declared  it  to  be  without  evidence  and 
without  foundation,  and  a  gratuitous  imputation  upon  a  city  which 
has  a  deeper  interest  than  any  other  portion  of  the  State  can  have 
in  preserving  Boston  Harbor. 

"  In  regard  to  filling  up  South  Bay,  the  facts  appear  to  be 
these  : — In  the  report  of  Messrs.  Hay  ward  and  Lincoln,  made  in 
1846,  they  state  the  area  of  South  Bay  to  be  346  acres.  This 
area  is  about  75  or  80  acres  larger  than  formerly,  the  bordering 
marsh  land  having  been  excavated,  for  the  purpose  of  filling  up 
the  South  Cove  and  other  neighboring  flats.  The  city  of  Boston 
have  a  large  tract  of  marsh  land,  east  of  Harrison  Avenue,  Avhich 
could  not  be  suitably  improved  without  building  a  sea  wall  at  great 
expense.  From  the  condition  of  this  land,  its  liability  to  become 
a  nuisance  and  source  of  filth  in  that  part  of  the  city,  and  from 
the  necessity  of  making  more  extensive  arrangements  for  a  more 
effective  drainage,  the  city  entered  into  a  very  expensive  contract 
to  build  a  sea-wall,  and  fill  about  sixty-nine  acres  of  the  flats 
which  belong  to  the  city,  by  a  title  as  good  as  any  title  in  the 
Commonwealth.  Nor  was  this  operation  commenced  in  the  dark. 
In  the  year  1847,  the  city  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  leave  to 
construct  a  railroad  from  the  Providence  Railroad  to  these  flats 
for  this  very  purpose,  and  an  act  was  passed  for  that  purpose. 
(Act  of  1847,  chapter  250.)  Failing  to  make  an  arrangement 
with  the  Providence  Railroad  Company,  the  city  then  petitioned 
for  leave  to  construct  a  railroad  from  the  Old  Colony  Raih-oad 
across  South  Bay  for  the  same  purpose.  This  was  strenuously 
resisted  by  the  city  of  Roxbury,  on  account  of  the  obstruction  to 
navigation,  but  was  granted  after  a  full  hearing  on  the  merits,  and 
the  act  was  passed  and  the  bridge  built.  (Act  of  1848,  chapter 
37.)  This  subject,  in  one  form  or  another,  has  been  repeatedly 
before  the  Legislature,  or  some  of  the  committees,  and  no  objec- 
tion has  ever  been  made  to  the  project,  but  it  has  been  regarded 
as  a  great  public  improvement.  And  when  it  is  remembered, 
that  the  city  are  only  filling  up  the  flats  which  belong  to  it  by  a 
perfect  title  ;  that  they  are  doing  this,  not  as  a  private  specula- 
tion, but  as  great  public  improvement  demanded  by  a  due  regard 
to  the  health  and  prosperity  of  the  city ;  that  the  Legislature 


APPENDIX. 


39 


have  sanctioned  the  'W'ork  by  two  special  acts,  and  that,  after 
these  flats  are  filled.  South  Bay  will  have  a  larger  area  than  be- 
fore South  Cove  was  filled  up,  your  committee  do  not  see  any 
foundation  for  the  remarks  made  by  the  commissioners." 

The  Legislative  Committee  obtained  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
James  Hay  ward,  civil  engineer,  and  a  member  of  two  of  the 
previous  boards  of  Commissioners,  which  is  attached  to  their 
report.  Mr.  Hayward  considers  it  "  above  all  things  desira- 
ble that  the  main  body  of  these  (the  South  Boston,)  flats 
should  be  devoted  to  a  system  of  tidal  basins,  wet  docks, 
warehouses,  and  other  facilities  for  conducting  the  commerce 
of  this  port,  which  the  increasing  business  of  this  country  is 
certainly  soon  to  demand,  and  for  which  the  locality  in  ques- 
tion is  remarkably  well  adapted."  He,  however,  differs  entirely 
from  the  Commissioners,  in  regard  to  the  excavation  of  the 
flats,  and  advocates  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  a  sea- 
wall on  the  east  side  of  Fore  Point  Channel, — 


"  This  entire  section  of  the  harbor,  presenting  a  front  of  one 
mile  in  length,  is  directly  exposed  to  the  southeast  winds,  which 
have  been  the  most  destructive  to  which  the  harbor  is  ever  ex- 
posed. It  would  be  a  great  boon  to  the  owners  of  that  property, 
and,  indirectly,  to  that  section  of  the  city,  to  have  the  whole  line 
of  wharves — from  the  free  bridge  down  to  India  wharf — perfectly 
protected  from  all  winds, — as  it  would  be  by  this  improvement. 
Fore  Point  channel  would  then  be  a  complete  tidal  basin,  in  every 
particular  as  good  as  that  of  the  Atlantic  Dock,  in  the  port  of 
New  York,  which  has  been  recently  built  at  a  great  expense.  It 
will,  when  built  round,  according  to  the  design,  have  fifty  per 
cent,  more  water  front  than  the  Atlantic  Basin,  and  about  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  greater  area  of  water  surface,  and  all  this  exclusive 
of  the  slips  on  the  sides  of  this  channel.  It  may  be  made  to 
accommodate  a  greater  number  of  vessels,  than  the  New  York 
basin,  and  these  vessels  would  be  as  perfectly  protected.  The 
area  of  this  channel,  between  the  free  bridge  and  its  mouth,  is 
just  equal  to  the  two  great  basins, — the  import  and  export  basins, 
of  the  West  India  Docks  in  London.  There  is  not  a  wharf  on 
that  channel  which  would  not  be  increased  in  value  by  carrying 
out  these  improvements.  On  the  contrary,  excavating  these  flats, 
as  proposed  by  the  late  commissioners,  will  totally  destroy  Fore 
Point  Channel.  The  current  in  this  channel  would  entirely  cease, 
and  the  water  in  front  of  all  the  wharves,  from  Hobbs'  wharf  to 


40  APPENDIX. 

Long  wharf,  would  be  either  a  gentle  eddy,  or  nearly  a  dead  pool ; 
and  it  would  be  found,  that  this  channel  and  the  docks,  along  and 
between  these  wharves,  would  fill  up  faster  than  they  ever  have 
before. 

"  That  the  excavation  of  these  flats  would  be  likely  to  cause 
Fore  Point  channel  to  fill  up,  and  that  a  sea-wall  on  the  eastern 
side  of  that  channel  would  tend  to  avert  that  evil,  even  the  report 
of  the  late  commissioners  furnishes  some  incidental  evidence.  It 
informs  us,  that  '  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  practical  of 
those  who  had  given  depositions  in  favor  of  a  sea-wall  on  the 
eastern  side  of  this  channel,  found  their  opinion  of  its  utility  upon 
the  apprehension,  that  the  great  volume  of  Avater  from  South  Bay 
might  cut  a  new  channel  through  the  flats  to  the  main  ship  chan- 
nel, and  80  leave  Fore  Point  Channel  to  fill  vp.^  The  report 
adds,  that  '  much  of  this  testimony  would  be  materially  modified 
by  the  present  state  of  things,  relative  to  the  filling  up  of  South 
Bay.'  This  is,  probably,  an  inference  of  the  commissioners  ;  but 
there  must  be  some  mistake,  either  of  principle  or  of  fact.  If 
these  deponents  apprehended  that  the  refluent  waters  from  South 
Bay  might  wear  a  new  channel  across  the  South  Boston  flats,  and 
thus  deprive  Eore  Point  Channel  of  the  scouring  agency  of  these 
waters,  and  recommended  the  erection  of  a  sea-wall  to  force  these 
waters  to  pass  through  this  channel,  and  thus  to  avert  the  calami- 
ty, I  should  not  feel  quite  at  liberty  to  hifer,  that  these  '  intelli- 
gent and  practical '  gentlemen  would  change  their  minds  as  to  the 
importance  of  a  scour  for  this  channel,  because  the  quantity  of 
water,  available  for  this  purpose,  was  liable  to  be  considerably 
diminished.  If  it  is  to  be  apprehended,  that  the  water  from 
South  Bay  may,  in  a  course  of  years,  wear  a  new  channel  through 
the  flats,  and  thus  destroy  Fore  Point  Channel,  it  is  quite  obvious, 
that  excavating  the  flats,  which  are  the  only  barrier  against  such 
fiction  of  the  water,  must  hasten  the  apprehended  catastrophe. 
And  I  find  it  not  easy  to  believe,  that  these  intelligent  witnesses 
would  doubt,  that  the  proposed  sea-wall,  or  some  equivalent  struc- 
ture, would  be  the  proper  protection  to  this  channel,  with  a  small- 
er quantity  of  water  as  well  as  with  a  larger. 

"  But  the  greatest  evil  likely^  and  I  think  I  may  say,  certain, 
to  result  from  the  excavation  of  this  great  body  of  flats, — is  the 
gradual  destruction  of  the  main  channel  of  the  harbor.  Serious 
evils  are  likely  to  follow  from  the  encroachments  which  have  been 
made  on  the  east  side  of  this  channel,  by  bringing  so  far  forward 
into  deep  water,  the  East  Boston  wharves.  Its  tendency  is  to 
create  a  change  in  the  main  channel,  by  wearing  off  on  the  south 
side,  just  below  the  mouth  of  Fore  Point  Channel,  and  causing  it 
to  shoal  in  front  of  the  lower  wharves  in  East  Boston.  The  exca- 
vation of  the  flats  would,  inevitably,  increase  this  evil ;  whereas, 
the  tendency  of  the  pier  which  the  commissioners  of  1846,  pro- 


APPENDIX.  41 

posed  to  be  erected  along  the  margin  of  this  channel,  would  be, 
to  arrest  this  process  of  deterioration,  before  the  evil  shall  become 
irremediable." 

Mr.  Hayward  points  out  certain  errors  in  the  statement  of 
of  the  commissioners,  as  follows,  viz., — 

"  It  is  quite  manifest,  that  the  sources  of  information  on  whicli 
the  late  commissioners  have  relied,  are,  in  many  instances,  far 
from  being  authentic.  They  have  fallen  into  a  mistake  with  respect 
to  the  amount  of  tide-water  which  has  been  excluded  by  filling  up 
the  flats  in  and  about  the  city.  The  report  goes  on  to  particular- 
ize: '  Boston  proper,  which  originally  contained  less  than  1,000 
acres,  now  contains  more  than  3,000  acres.  This  increase  of 
more  than  2,000  acres,  has  all  been  made  by  encroachments  upon 
tide-water.  In  addition  to  this,  the  mill-dam  cut  off  700  or  800 
acres  more, — to  this  may  be  added  the  large  quantity  of  land 
made  at  Cambridge,  Charlestown,  Chelsea,  and  East  Boston. 
Here  we  have  an  area  of  several  thousand  acres  which  are  forev- 
er lost  to  the  harbor.'  This  certainly  looks  appalling,  but  it  is 
mostly  imagination.  Boston  proper,  instead  of  containing  '  more 
than  3,000  acres '  above  high-water  mark,  contains,  at  this  mo- 
ment, less  than  half  that  area.  This  correction  reduces,  very 
essentially,  the  '  increase  which  has  been  made  by  encroachments 
upon  tide-water.'  The  amount  cut  off  by  the  mill-dam  is,  I  be- 
lieve, not  over-stated.  But  the  material  for  the  '  large  quantity 
of  land,'  said  to  be,  made  in  Cambridge, — that  made  on  the  south 
and  west  side  of  Charlestown,  and  a  large  amount  on  the  west  and 
northwest,  as  well  as  on  the  south  sides  of  Boston  proper,  and  no 
inconsiderable  amount  at  East  Boston  and  South  Boston,  has  been 
taken  from  the  marshes  and  flats,  between  high  and  low  water- 
marks, in  the  rivers  and  bays  above  the  harbor,  which  has 
enlarged  these  estuaries  to  that  amount,  and  thus,  has  been  a 
benefit,  rather  than  a  detriment,  to  the  harbor  channels.  The 
principal  exception  to  this  beneficial  effect  is,  that  too  much  of 
this  material  was  taken  from  South  Bay  instead  of  being  taken 
from  the  larger  estuaries  above  the  harbor." 

And  says  in  reference  to  the  change  in  the  current  be- 
tween Boston  and  East  Bosion, — 

"  The  main  cause  of  this  change  in  the  current  between  Boston 
and  East  Boston,  particularly  at  ebb  tide,  is  undoubtedly  the  ex- 
tension of  the  wharves  at  East  Boston.  It  was,  without  doubt, 
a  great  mistake  to  allow  the  wharves  on  that  island  to  project  so 
far  into  the  main  channel.     It  was  considered,  by  the  harbor  com- 


42 


APPENDIX. 


missioners  of  1835,  to  be  a  misfortune  that  the  passage  for  the 
tide  could  not  be  widened  on  that  side,  Avithout  disturbing  then 
existing  improvements  ;  but  further  encroachment  has  been  since 
made  upon  the  main  channel  on  that  side. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that,  in  the  course  of  the  next  generation, 
the  commerce  of  Boston  will  be  quadrupled.  And  it  is  with 
reference  to  its  future  wants,  and  the  desirableness,  at  all  times, 
— of  affording  the  utmost  facilities  for  doing  this  business, — of 
laying  upon  it  the  fewest  possible  burdens,— that  I  am  obliged  to 
differ  from  the  commissioners  as  to  their  general  views  of  the  har- 
bor, and  the  details  which  are  mainly  contemplated  in  their  report. 
The  measures  which  are  definitely  recommended,  by  the  commis- 
sioners, to  be  pursued  by  the  present  generation,  are  such  as  will 
not  only  take  from  the  premises  in  question  those  characteristics 
which  constitute  their  principal  value  in  relation  to  the  expected 
wants  of  commerce  at  this  port, — but  they  will  really  put  at  haz- 
ard the  most  important  feature  of  the  present  harbor, — the  main 
channel  between  the  city  and  Fort  Independence. 

"  It  is,  without  doubt,  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  the  princi- 
pal want  of  commerce  at  this  port  is  anchorage  ground.  And  it 
would  be  a  fatal  mistake  to  excavate  those  flats  to  a  depth  of 
twelve  feet  below  low-water  mark,  with  the  idea  of  benefiting  com- 
merce,—-r-to  say  nothing  of  the  expense  of  it ;  which  will  be  for 
the  whole  five  hundred  acres,  several  millions  of  dollars." 


The  eighth  commission,  consisting  of  Simon  Greenleaf, 
Joel  Giles  and  Ezra  Lincoln,  Jr.,  Esquires,  was  appointed 
under  authority  of  resolves  of  the  Legislature,  approved  May 
3,  1850. 

This  commission  was  authorized  to  define  upon  a  plan  or 
plans,  such  lines  as  they  shall  think  expedient  to  establish, 
beyond  which  no  wharves  shall  be  extended  into  and  over 
the  tide  waters  of  the  Commonwealth,  on  the  flats  on  the 
easterly  side  of  Fore  Point  channel,  and  northerly  shore  of 
South  Boston. 

Also  to  examine  if  any  alterations  in  the  lines  and  chan- 
nels of  South  Bay,  or  any  part  of  Fore  Point  Channel,  be 
necessary  to  preseve  the  deptli  of  water,  or  prevent  the  form- 
ation of  shoals,  and  bars  thereon. 

Also  to  make  inquiries  respecting  the  flats  in  the  Back  Bay, 
and  report  what  measures  can  be  taken  for  the  improvement 


APPENDIX,  4d 

of  the  same.  As  it  is  not  supposed  that  any  further  injury  to 
the  harbor  of  Boston  can  be  occasioned  by  the  improvement 
of  flats  from  which  the  tide-water  is  now  excluded,  no 
extracts  will  be  made  from  their  report  referring  to  that 
subject. 

The  commissioners  were  also  authorized  to  obtain  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  the  attorney-general  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, upon  any  legal  points  or  questions  that  might  be 
involved  in  the  examination  of  the  several  subjects  referred 
to  them. 

The  well  known  ability  of  the  commissioners,  and  the 
attention  paid  by  them  to  the  legal  merits  of  the  case,  gives 
weight  to  their  opinion  and  entitles  it  to  particular  considera- 
tion. The  report,  from  which  the  following  extracts  have 
been  made,  is  dated  March  22,  1851. 

"1.  The  title  of  the  Commonwealth  [to  the  flats  in  question] 
may  be  deduced  in  the  first  place  from  the  right  of  eminent  do- 
main, which  is  an  inherent  attribute  of  sovereignty.  It  is  the 
paramount  right,  which  every  sovereign  state  possesses,  of  dispos- 
ing of  all  the  property  within  its  jurisdiction,  as  the  safety  and 
well  being  of  the  whole  may  require.  The  right  of  determining 
the  existence  and  extent  of  the  public  exigencies  must  rest  with 
those  to  whom  the  exercise  of  sovereign  power  is  entrusted.  Un- 
der our  constitution,  all  public  property  is,  in  the  first  instance, 
entrusted  by  the  people  to  the  Legislature,  to  be  administered  and 
disposed  of  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  This  trust  is  in  its  nature 
discretionary.  The  Legislature  must  of  necessity  be  the  sole 
judge  of  the  time,  manner  and  circumstances,  in  and  under  which 
the  public  property  shall  be  apphed,  or  private  property  be  taken, 
for  public  uses.  And  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  public 
functionaries  will  be  regardless  of  their  duty,  or  incapable  of 
performing  it.  Against  hasty  or  unwise  legislation,  our  constitu- 
tion has  provided  no  security  but  the  veto  of  the  executive,  and 
the  interest,  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  legislative  body,  and  its 
relations  with  its  constituents.  If,  in  the  exercise  of  this  right 
of  eminent  domain,  private  property  is  taken,  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  its  value  is  directly  impaired,  the  State  is  bound  to 
make  adequate  compensation,  upon  principles  of  natural  justice, 
exphcitly  recognized  in  the  constitution. 

"  It  is  universally  admitted  to  be  the  duty  of  every  government 
to  promote  the  public  convenience,  and  the  interests  both  of  agri- 
culture, and  of  trade  and  commerce ;  and  consequently,  to  pro- 
vide not  only  pubhc  commons  and  highways,  but  common  harbors 


44  APPENDIX. 

and  landing  places  for  these  puposes.  The  right  of  travel  and 
navigation,  in  the  pursuit  of  lawful  business,  is  the  jus  publicum, 
or  right  of  all  men,  subject  to  which,  as  modified  and  limited  in 
its  exercise  by  the  sovereign  power,  all  real  property  is  holden. 

"  The  commissioners,  therefore,  conceive  it  to  be  clear,  that  this 
Commonwealth  has  the  right,  in  the  exercise  of  its  eminent  do- 
main, to  define  the  territorial  limits  beyond  which  no  riparian 
proprietor  of  lands  shall  obstruct  the  free  flow  of  navigable  waters, 
or  impede  the  passage  of  any  vessel  or  property,  water-borne  ; 
and  the  right  to  take  any  measures,  in  its  discretion,  to  protect 
its  harbors  from  injury,  and  to  render  them  safe  and  commodious 
for  navigation  by  all  the  citizens. 

"  2.  There  is,  in  the  second  place,  a  title  in  the  Commonwealth, 
to  what  is  termed  '  the  soil  of  the  sea,'  that  is,  to  the  land  covered 
by  tide-waters,  within  its  territorial  limits. 

"  This  title  may  be  deduced  from  general  principles  of  national 
law.  Writers  of  acknowledged  authority  on  this  subject  agree, 
that '  everything,  susceptible  of  property,  belongs  to  the  nation 
that  possesses  the  country,  and  as  forming  the  entire  mass  of  its 
wealth,'  and  '  that  when  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  country, 
everything  that  is  not  divided  among  its  members  remains  common 
to  the  whole  nation,  and  is  called  public  ivealth.  The  nation,  in 
monarchies,  is  represented,  in  regard  to  its  property,  by  'the 
crown,'  which  holds  the  national  domains  in  trust ;  in  this  country 
the  title  to  such  property  is  vested  in  the  State  or  people,  the 
power  of  disposal  bemg  in  the  legislative  body.  And  as  the  land 
covered  by  the  sea  is  a  thing  in  its  nature  susceptible  of  property, 
this  State,  as  soon  as  it  became  a  sovereign  power,  became  the 
owner  of  all  the  lands  within  its  territorial  limits,  which  had  not 
already  become  the  property  of  private  persons ;  including,  of 
course,  the  flats  in  question. 

"  3.  This  title  may  also  be  deduced  from  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land, by  actual  conveyances.  That  the  title  to  the  soil  of  the  sea 
was  vested  in  the  crown  at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  this 
country,  is  now  too  well  settled  to  admit  of  question.  It  is  so 
laid  down  by  that  great  jurist,  Lord  Hale,  in  his  treatise  De  Jure 
Maris,  beyond  which  no  authority  need  be  cited ;  and  this  doc- 
trine has  uniformly  been  admitted  in  this  country,  in  all  our 
judicial  tribunals,  without  dispute. 

"King  James  I.,  having  this  title,  in  the  year  1620,  granted 
to  the  Plymouth  Company  '  all  that  part  of  America,'  between 
the  fortieth  and  forty-eighth  degrees  of  north  latitude  ;  including 
not  only  the  '  firm  lands,'  but  also  the  '  soils,  grounds,  havens, 
ports,  rivers  and  waters '  therein,  and  the  islands  on  the  coast. 
In  1627,  the  Plj^mouth  Company  conveyed  to  Sir  Henry  Rose- 
well  and  others,  '  all  that  part  of  New  England '  extending  from 
three  miles  northward  of  Merrimack  river  to  three  miles  south- 


APPENDIX.  45 

ward  of  the  southernmost  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  with  the 
same  particular  enumeration  of  the  soils,  grounds,  havens,  ports, 
islands,  &c.  This  charter  was  confirmed  by  letters  patent  of 
King  Charles  I.,  in  1628  ;  and  though  these  letters  were  unjustly 
vacated  by  chancery  in  1684,  yet  the  chartered  rights  of  the 
Massachusetts  Company  were  restored,  and  the  Province  of  Mas- 
sachusetts constituted,  by  a  subsequent  charter,  granted  Oct.  7, 
1691,  by  William  and  Mary.  Under  this  charter,  the  Province 
of  Massachusetts  held  all  the  teritorial  rights  and  titles  now  in 
question,  down  to  the  period  of  the  revolution,  at  which  time  they 
passed  to  the  Commonwealth.  This  property  is  thus  vested  in  the 
State,  for  the  general  benefit  of  the  people  ;  subject  to  be  man- 
aged, ordered  and  disposed  of,  like  other  pubHc  property,  as  the 
Legislature  in  its  wisdom  may  deem  most  conducive  to  the  good 
of  the  whole.  The  commissioners  are  unable  to  find  any  practical 
distinction  between  one  kind  of  public  property  and  another,  so 
far  as  regards  the  right  of  legislative  disposal.  Should  the 
Legislature  be  inveigled  into  an  unwise  grant  to  individuals,  either 
of  property  or  of  corporate  franchises  or  powers,  the  grant  must 
stand  upon  the  same  footing  with  grants  of  private  property  or 
easements  by  private  persons.  If  the  grant  amounts  to  the 
alienation  of  any  attribute  of  sovereignty,  entrusted  to  the  legis- 
lative body  for  purposes  of  government,  it  is  merely  void  for  want 
of  authority  in  the  Legislature  to  make  the  grant.  And  if,  being 
within  the  powers  entrusted  to  the  Legislature,  any  grant  has 
been  obtained  by  fraud  and  imposition,  it  may  for  that  cause  be 
set  aside  in  the  courts  of  law. 

"  It  was  argued,  with  much  ingenuity  and  learning,  before  the 
commissioners,  that  the  State  was  entitled  to  the  soil  under  tide 
water  only  as  an  incident  to  the  waters  themselves ;  that  these 
were  common  property,  or  res  omnium  ;  and  that  when  the  waters 
receded,  or  were  shut  out,  the  title  of  the  sovereign  receded  also, 
and  was  excluded  ;  and  hence  it  was  inferred,  that  the  State  could 
have  no  absolute  title  to  the  soil  under  tide  waters,  nor  to  the 
lands  from  which  those  waters  are  excluded,  whether  by  natural 
causes,  or  by  artificial  dams  and  embankments,  made  by  public 
authority.  This  reasoning,  though  universal  in  its  terms,  was 
especially  appHed  to  the  lands  within  the  Receiving  Basin  of  the 
Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Dam,  in  Back  Bay. 

"  In  regard  to  lands,  gained  from  the  sea  by  alluvion,  or  imper- 
ceptible and  gradual  accretion,  by  the  natural  and  ordinary  action 
of  the  waters,  it  is  universally  admitted  that  they  belong  to  the 
riparian  proprietor.  It  is  equally  clear,  that  the  losses  of  soil, 
occasioned  in  like  manner,  are  to  be  borne  by  the  proprietor  alone. 
He  takes  the  chances  both  of  loss  and  of  gain.  But  this  rule  is 
founded,  not  upon  the  notion  of  any  reliction  or  extinguishment  of 
the  title  of  the  State,  as  depending  on  tide  waters,  or  any  act  of 


46  APPENDIX. 

the  State  ;  but  on  the  principle  that  such  imperceptible  accessions 
are  the  natural  growth  of  the  land  to  which  they  are  attached,  as 
the  growth  of  a  tree  belongs  to  the  tree ;  and  on  the  maxim  of 
right,  which  gives  the  profits  and  advantages  of  a  thing  to  him 
who  is  exposed  to  suffer  its  damages  and  its  losses.  In  like  man- 
ner, and  on  the  same  principle,  what  is  gained  from  the  flats  or 
bank,  bj  similar  gradual  action  of  the  waters,  is  gained  to  the 
state  owning  the  soil  of  the  sea. 

"  But  it  is  not  easy  to  perceive  any  necessary  connection  between 
the  right  to  control  tide  waters,  and  the  title  to  the  soil  over  which 
they  flow  ;  nor  any  dependence  of  the  one  upon  the  other.  The 
tide  waters  are  nothing  more  than  a  common  highway,  over  which 
the  right  of  passage,  which  is  common  to  all,  is  not  yet  restricted 
to  particular  lines  and  limits  ;  and  such  the  whole  territory  of  the 
State  would  be,  if  no  private  citizen  owned  any  portion  of  it  in 
severalty. 

"  This  universal  right  of  passage  and  travel,  whether  on  land 
or  water,  is  regulated  and  controlled  by  the  State,  in  virtue  of  its 
right  of  government,  as  an  attribute  of  sovereignty,  and  not  in 
virtue  of  any  proprietorship  in  the  soil.  On  the  upland,  where 
the  State  owns  nothing,  the  land  being  held  by  private  persons, 
this  right  of  control,  in  the  making,  altering  and  regulating  of 
highways,  remains  nevertheless  in  the  State,  in  full  and  unim- 
paired amplitude  and  vigor ;  it  would  also  remain,  to  the  same 
extent,  in  regard  to  the  control  of  the  tide-waters,  if  the  State 
owned  nothing  in  the  soil  under  them.  Its  title  to  this  soil,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  is  derived  from  other  sources  ;  by  virtue  of 
which  it  owns  all  the  lands  within  its  bounds,  whether  under  water 
or  above  water,  which  it  has  not  granted  away.  Such  grant,  if 
any  there  be,  may  always  readily  be  shown,  by  the  production  or 
other  proof  of  the  charter,  resolve  or  deed,  or  by  evidence  of 
ancient  and  exclusive  possession,  from  which  a  charter  or  grant 
may  be  presumed. 

"  It  may  be  added,  that  the  title  of  the  State,  as  absolute  own- 
er of  all  the  land  covered  by  water,  lying  below  low-water  mark, 
or  more  than  one  hundred  rods  from  high-water  mark,  though  it 
has  not  been  directly  adjudicated  upon,  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
commissioners,  has  been  several  times  distinctly  recognized  by  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  as  an  unquestioned  title,  in  reference  to 
the  ground  within  the  Receiving  Easin  of  the  Boston  and  Roxbury 
Mill  Corporation.  (See  12  Pickering's  Reports,  476  ;  23  Pick- 
ering's Reports,  391.) 

"  The  fallacy  of  the  reasoning  which  makes  the  title  of  the 
State  to  the  land  in  question  depend  on  its  control  of  the  tide 
waters,  is  supposed  to  arise  from  not  distinguishing  between  things 
which  are  the  common  property  of  all  men,  without  regard  to 
national  character,  being  in  their  nature  incapable  of  separate 


APPENDIX.  47 

possession ;  of  wliicli  the  air,  and  light,  and  the  high  seas  are 
examples ;  and  those  things  which  are  capable  of  separate 
possession,  and  are  the  property  of  the  State,  subject  to  its  abso- 
lute control  for  the  common  good  ;  among  which  are  the  sea  near 
its  coast,  the  banks  of  the  sea,  and  the  ports  and  harbors  within 
its  territorial  limits. 

"  The  commissioners,  while  they  perceive  no  limit  to  the  power' 
of  the  Legislature  to  manage  and  dispose  of  these  public  lands, 
as  well  as  any  other  public  property,  except  such  limit  as  its  own. 
good  judgment  and  discretion  may  prescribe,  are  nevertheless  of 
opinion  that  the  preservation  of  our  harbors  is  an  important  pub- 
lic trust,  which  ought  always  to  be  kept  in  view  in  disposing  of 
the  flats  therein ;  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  the  interest 
of  private  individuals  leads  to  continual  encroachments  on  the  tide 
waters,  by  extending  their  wharves  and  embankments. 

"  II.  Such  being  the  general  title  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
next  inquiry  is,  as  to  the  titles  of  private  citizens  and  corporations 
to  any  lands  within  the  original  bounds  of  the  harbor. 

"  The  title  of  the  Plymouth  Company,  as  derived  from  the 
crown  of  England,  originally  covered  all  the  land  below  high- 
water  mark.  But,  by  the  Colonial  Ordinance  of  1641,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  land  adjoining  tide  waters,  became  entitled  to  the 
land  '  to  the  low-water  mark,  where  the  sea  doth  not  ebb  above  a 
hundred  rods,  and  not  more  wheresoever  it  ebbs  further ;  provi- 
ded, that  such  proprietor  shall  not  by  this  liberty  have  power  to 
stop  or  hinder  the  passage  of  boats  or  other  vessels,  in  or  through 
any  sea,  creeks  or  coves,  to  other  men's  houses  or  lands.'  This 
ordinance  is  the  source  and  foundation  of  all  the  right  which  ripa- 
rian proprietors  have  to  the  flats  below  their  respective  lands.  The 
extent  of  the  right  has  not  been  fully  and  completely  defined  by 
any  judicial  decision,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  commissioners ;  but 
it  has  been  adjudged,  that  any  natural  creek,  in  which  the  tide 
ebbed  and  flowed,  and  from  which  it  did  not  ebb  at  the  times  when 
from  natural  causes,  it  ebbed  the  lowest,  would  constitute  the 
ulterior  boundary  of  the  flats.  It  has  also  been  held,  that  by 
force  of  this  ordinance,  the  riparian  proprietor  has  a  fee  in  the 
soil  of  the  flats,  to  the  extent  therein  described,  as  parcel  of  and 
incident  to  his  upland  ;  but  that  he  holds  it  only  Buh  modo,  limi- 
ted and  qualified  by  the  proviso  therein  contained  ;  that  he  may 
build  a  wharf  or  other  permanent  structure  upon  it,  or  he  may 
enclose  it  with  rows  of  piles,  so  as  to  exclude  other  persons  from 
it ;  but  that  he  is  restricted  from  making  such  a  use  of  it,  as  would 
impair  the  public  right  of  passing  over  the  water  in  boats  or  other 
vessels  to  other  men's  houses  or  lands  ;  it  being  the  intention  of 
the  ordinance,  to  reserve  a  free  passage  over  the  water  in  such 
places,  '  to  other  men's  houses  and  lands,'  in  the  same  manner  as 
it  existed  before  the  pubhc  property  in  the  shore  was  transferred. 


48  APPENDIX. 

"  The  right  of  the  proprietor  to  the  use  of  the  flats  being  thus 
held,  subject  to  the  paramount  public  right  of  passage  over  them 
when  covered  with  water,  the  question  has  been  raised,  whether 
it  is  competent  for  the  Legislature  to  prescribe  the  method  of 
using  this  public  right  of  passage,  and  to  fix  a  hmit,  beyond  which 
no  wharf  or  other  obstruction  shall  be  erected  to  impair  it,  with- 
out the  payment  of  any  damages  to  the  owner  of  the  flats.     In 
the  solution  of  this  question,  it  is  to  be  considered,  that  the  right 
of  way,  intended  to  be  preserved  by  the  ordinance,  is,  from  its 
nature,  a  public,  and  not  a  private  way  ;  it  is  not  a  way  restricted 
to  the  houses  or  lands  of  the  adjacent  or  any  other  particular 
class  of  proprietors  ;  but  it  is  a  way  to  '  other  men's,'  namely,  all 
other  men's,  estates,  anywhere.     Such  ways  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  government  to  provide,  when  requisite  for  the  convenience 
of  its  citizens ;  and  the  legislative  act  by  which  such  convenient 
way  or  passage   is   secured,  whether  it   be  in  the  form  of  a 
statute  or  a  resolve,  and  whether  general  or  particular,  is  con- 
ceived to  be  merely  the  ordinary  exercise  of  sovereign  power,  in 
the  regular  course  of  good  government.     And  the  estabUshment 
of  the  commissioners'  or  harbor  line,  so   called,  beyond  which 
no  wharf  shall  be  extended,  is  nothing  else  than  a  legislative  act, 
defining  the  limits  and  boundary,  and  securing  the  safety,  of  a 
public  highway  for  navigation,  which  it  is  perfectly  competent  for 
the  Legislature  to  do.     If,  then,  the  ordinance  of  1641,  with  its 
proviso,  is  to  be  expounded  as  a  grant  of  the  flats,  subject  to  the 
perpetual  public  easement  and  servitude  of  such  right  of  way,  the 
act  of  the  Legislature,  in  defining  the  limits  and  boundaries,  and 
securing  the  safety  of  such  way,  would  not  seem  to  subject  the 
Commonwealth  to  the  payment  of  damages  to  the  owner  of  the 
flats  ;  for,  in  that  case,  nothing  would  be  taken  from  him  for  pub- 
lic use  which  he  ever  owned.     The  case  may,  in  this  view,  be 
likened  to  any  grant  of  land  by  the  State  subject  to  the  location 
of  a  road  over  it,  in  such  manner  as  the  State  might  afterwards 
determine ;  or  the  grant  of  a  township  of  land,  subject  to  the 
public  use  of  its  navigable  waters.     But  if  the  ordinance,  with 
its  proviso,  is  to  be  expounded  as  a  grant  of  the  flats  upon  con- 
dition that  the  grantee  shall  not  erect  any  obstruction  thereon  to 
the  free  passage  of  boats  and  vessels,  then  the  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature, in  establishing  the  extreme  limit  of  any  soHd  embankment, 
or,  in  other  words,  in  defining  the  harbor  line,  may  be  regarded 
as  an  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  taking   private 
property  for  public  use ;  in  which  case,  the  owner  of  the  land 
thus  taken  would  be  entitled  to  the  payment,  by  the  Common- 
wealth, of  such  damages,  as  he  may  thereby  have  sustained.     In 
either  case,  the  right  of  the  Legislature  to  establish  such  line  is 
beyond  question. 

"  Which  of  these  is  the  true  interpretation  of  the  ordinance,  is 


APPENDIX. 


49 


a  question  of  no  inconsiderable  difficulty.  And  as  it  is  understood 
to  be  involved  in  a  case  now  under  advisement  in  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court,  the  commissioners  deem  it  proper  to  await  its  de- 
cision by  that  tribunal." 

In  considering  the  lines  to  be  established  upon  South  Bos- 
ton flats,  they  say, — 

"  These  flats  contain  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  between 
the  high  and  low-water  lines.  About  two  hundred  acres,  fronting 
northeasterly  on  the  main  channel,  and  northwesterly  on  Fore 
Point  Channel,  are  below  the  line  of  riparian  proprietorship,  and 
belong  to  the  State.  The  average  depth  of  high  water  upon  these 
flats  is  about  nine  feet.  When  covered  with  water,  they  form 
part  of  the  roadstead  of  Boston  harbor,  and  affoid  harbor-room 
and  anchorage,  upon  their  margins,  for  coasters  and  vessels  of 
light  draught ;  when  bare,  these  flats  are  a  source  of  unwholesome 
nuisances,  and  they  prevent  water  access  to  the  entire  northern 
shore  of  South  Boston,  and  effectually  separate  that  important 
section  of  the  city  from  its  main  centres  of  business.  The  mag- 
nitude of  these  inconveniences  will  go  on  increasing  with  the 
population  and  business  of  the  city.  A  wise  forecast,  therefore, 
clearly  requires  a  division  and  appropriation  of  these  flats  to  the 
uses  of  the  harbor  and  the  shore,  respectively,  according  to  their 
present  and  prospective  exigencies. 

"  The  value  of  the  whole  of  South  Boston  will  be  greatly  en- 
hanced by  building  out  its  nortliern  shore,  and  excavating  the 
margins  of  the  channels,  until  good  wharf  and  dock  accommoda- 
tions are  obtained,  and  by  making  a  new  and  broad  avenue,  run- 
ning from  the  foot  of  Summer  street,  nearly  parallel  with  West 
Broadway,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  city  institutions.  It  is  evident 
to  the  commissioners,  that  some  such  improvements  will  certainly 
be  made,  at  no  distant  day,  for  they  are  wanted  by  the  public. 
The  question  is,  how  can  these  exigencies  be  satisfied  without  in- 
jury to  the  harbor  ?  To  answer  this  question,  it  must  be  ob- 
served, that  there  are  but  two  places,  in  the  main  channel  of 
the  harbor,  where  apparently  much  danger  is  to  be  apprehended 
from  shoaling,  or  a  change  of  currents.  The  first,  and  most  im- 
portant of  these,  is  at  the  Narrows,  in  the  lower  harbor.  Mat- 
thew Hunt,  a  pilot  of  forty  years'  experience,  stated  to  the 
commissioners,  that  the  depth  of  water  in  the  Narrows  has  mate- 
rially lessened  within  the  period  of  his  observation  ;  and,  if  the 
changes  now  taking  place  there  shall  go  on  as  fast  for  twenty 
years  more,  that  channel  will  be  destroyed  for  large  vessels  ;  that 
the  spit  on  the  easterly  end  of  Gallop's  Island  is  making  out  into 
the  channel,  and  already  turns  much  of  the  flood  tide  from  the 
Narrows,  through  a  side  channel,  into  Nantasket  Roads,  in  a  di- 


50  APPENDIX. 

rection  south  of  Long  Island,  and  around  into  Hingham  harbor. 
He  further  stated,  that  the  channel  through  the  Narrows,  -which 
is  the  only  ship  channel  for  large  vessels,  at  all  times  safe  and 
practicable,  into  and  out  of  the  harbor,  is  not  much  over  six  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  from  ten  feet  soundings  on  one  margin  to  ten  feet 
soundings  on  the  other  ;  and  at  mean  low  water,  the  least  depth 
is  twenty  five  or  six  feet.  Upon  the  preservation  of  this  narrow 
channel,  thereiore,  depends  the  safety  and  value  of  Boston  har- 
bor, and  the  millions  of  local  property  in  its  vicinity.  But,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  these  unfavorable  changes  which 
are  going  on  in  the  Narrows,  are  owing  to  local  causes,  which  are 
mainly  the  extension  and  enlargement  of  the  spits  on  the  east  end 
of  Gallop's  Island,  the  southwest  side  of  Lovell's  Island,  and  the 
west  end  of  the  Great  Brewster.  The  present  and  ultimate  ef- 
fects of  these  increasing  spits  upon  the  Narrows  deserve  the 
immediate  and  serious  attention  of  the  Legislature  and  of  Con- 
gress ;  and  prompt  measures  should  be  adopted  by  Congress  and 
by  the  State,  to  prevent  the  further  washing  away  of  the  islands 
in  the  lower  harbor.  This  must  be  done,  in  a  great  measure,  by 
walling  them  around  on  the  seaward  side,  and  by  placing  heavy 
stone  baUast  upon  their  beaches  ;  and  such  material  portions  of 
the  islands  as  cannot  certainly  be  preserved  while  remaining  pri- 
vate property,  should  at  once  be  purchased  by  the  State,  or  by 
the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  being  secured  against  furth- 
er destruction. 

"  As,  however,  the  Narrows  are  far  down  the  lower  harbor,  and 
nearly  five  miles  from  the  South  Boston  flats,  the  commissioners, 
after  maturely  weighing  all  the  considerations  pertinent  to  the 
case,  cannot  perceive  any  reasonable  probability  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  harbor  lines,  hereinafter  described  and  recom- 
mended, will  produce  any  injurious  effects  upon  that  critical  part 
of  the  main  ship  channel. 

"  The  other  important  point  in  the  harbor  channel,  to  which 
the  attention  of  the  commissioners  has  been  specially  directed,  is 
called  the  Upper  Middle,  which  is  a  shoal  of  sticky  Mud  in  the 
main  channel,  lying  off  the  lower  end  of  the  South  Boston  flats, 
and  about  equidistant  from  Castle  Island  on  the  southeast,  and 
Governor's  Island  on  the  northeast,  and  just  below  where  the 
Glades  Channel,  which  is  the  deepest,  though  narrow  and  crooked, 
branches  off  to  the  north  of  Governor's  Island.  This  shoal  seems 
to  be  of  the  nature  of  a  bar,  formed  by  the  flood  tide  in  coming 
u]!  between  the  two  islands  above-named  ;  and  the  Lower  Middle 
may  have  been  formed  in  a  similar  manner,  by  the  ebb  tide  pass- 
ing down  between  the  same  islands. 

"  A  comparison  of  charts  and  soundings,  of  successive  dates, 
does  not  indicate  so  much  recent  shoaling  upon  the  Upper  Middle, 
as  the    testimony  of  living  witnesses  tends  to  prove.     It  was 


APPENDIX. 


51 


stated  to  the  commissioners,  by  persons  wlio  have  L;>ng  observed 
the  changes  taking  place  in  the  harbor,  that  the  water  has  shoaled, 
upon  the  Upper  Middle,  more  than  three  feet  within  the  last 
twenty  years.  It  is  now  eighteen  feet  deep  there,  at'  mean  low 
water.  But  whether  the  water  has  shoaled  there  within  that 
period,  or  whether  ships  are  now  built  of  a  larger  draught  than 
formerly,  it  is  but  too  evident  that  large  vessels  frequently  touch 
in  passing  the  Upper  Middle,  and  not  unfrequently  they  are 
obliged  to  wait  for  a  half  or  a  full  tide,  before  attempting  to  pass 
at  all.  It  becomes,  therefore,  quite  material  to  determine  what 
effect  the  filling  up  of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  South  Bos- 
ton flats  will  have  upon  this  part  of  the  channel. 

"  Nothing  is  more  difScult  than  to  foresee,  with  certainty,  the 
ultimate  result  of  any  specific  alterations  in  irregular  channels, 
like  those  of  Boston  harbor,  for  the  reason  that  the  proximate 
effects  of  such  alterations  become,  in  turn,  themselves  the  causes 
of  other  effects,  and  so  on  to  infinity,  giving  rise  to  a  series  of 
casual  relations  which  no  scientific  formula  can  grasp  and  re- 
solve." 

Ill  reference  to  the  lines  in  South  Bay,  the  Commissioners 
say,— 

"  The  existing  harbor  line  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay,  above 
the  South  Boston  old  bridge,  runs  parallel  with  Dorchester  turn- 
pike, and  touches  the  margin  of  the  deep  channel  at  two  points. 
It  was  strongly  urged  upon  the  commissioners,  to  recommend  an 
alteration  in  this  hne,  by  advancing  it  further  into  the  bay,  and 
without  regard  to  the  only  existing  deep  channel ;  requiring,  how- 
ever, that  a  new  channel  should  be  excavated  by  the  ri[/arian 
owners,  before  they  should  fill  up  the  old  one  ;  but,  after  having 
carefully  considered  the  proposed  alteration,  in  all  its  bearings 
upon  the  public  rights,  and  the  interests  of  navigation,  the  com- 
missioners are  decidedly  and  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  it  is 
inexpedient  and  unnecessary.  The  reasons  in  favor  of  it  are  pri- 
vate and  inconsiderable,  while  those  against  it  are  public  and 
weighty.  South  Bay  is  quite  enough  contracted  by  the  harbor 
lines  as  now  established. 

"  No  harbor  lines  have  yet  been  drawn  or  established  around 
the  southern  or  upper  end  of  the  bay ;  and  the  commissioners, 
though  not  authorized  to  draw  such  lines,  cannot  omit  this  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  their  opinion  of  the  great  importance  of 
immediately  extending  the  harbor  line  entirely  around  this  bay  ; 
and,  in  completing  the  harbor  line  around  the  bay,  the  largest 
tidal  area  which  the  State  is  entitled  to  retain,  or  is  willing  to 
pay  for  retaining,  should  be  secured ;  for  upon  this  scouring  barfia 


5*3  APPENDIX. 

depends  entirely  the  security  and  value  of  Fore  Point  Channel, 
with  its  long  line  of  wharves  and  docks  on  either  side,  down  to 
the  main  channel  of  the  harbor. 


"  The  flats  in  Boston  harbor,  including  its  bays  and  rivers,  in 
which  the  Commonwealth  has  a  valuable  interest,  are  quite  exten- 
sive ;  and  the  disposition  which  shall  be  made  of  them,  whether 
by  keeping  them  open  or  filling  them  up,  is  a  matter  of  the  great- 
est consequence  to  the  conservation  of  the  harbor,  and  the  inter- 
ests of  navigation  ;  and  it  may  therefore  be  thought  expedient, 
by  the  Legislature,  to  vest  the  disposition  and  administration  of 
the  public  rights  in  these  flats,  in  some  permanent  board  of  trus- 
tees or  commissioners,  who  can  devise  and  see  to  the  faithful 
execution  of  some  general,  safe  and  beneficial  plan  for  the  best* 
improvement  of  these  flats,  within  the  limitations  and  lines  which 
may  be  established  by  the  Legislature,  charging  all  the  expenses 
of  such  board  upon  the  proceeds  of  the  flats,  which  should  be  so 
improved,  or  disposed  of,  as  to  remunerate  the  State  for  all  past 
or  future  expenses  in  regard  to  the  preservation  and  improvement 
of  Boston  harbor.  And  the  commissioners,  guided  by  the  expe- 
rience of  other  governments  upon  similar  subjects,  propose  to 
report  a  project  or  bill,  "  for  carrying  out  the  purposes  above  indi- 
cated ;  and  for  the  full  and  final  execution  of  their  commission, 
further  time  is  respectfully  requested." 

By  the  Act  of  1851,  chapter  254,  the  line  of  the  harbor 
between  Battery  and  Gray's  wharves  was  more  accurately 
deflined. 

Further  time  was  given  to  the  Commissioners  by  the 
resolve  of  1851,  chapter  8U,  for  the  "full  and  final  execution 
of  their  commission."  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1851, 
Governor  Boutwell  vetoed  "  an  Act  to  authorize  the  Boston 
Wharf  Company  to  complete  and  maintain  their  wharf." 
The  concluding  sentence  of  the  veto  message  leads  to  the 
inference  that  the  Governor  was  influenced  more  by  the  views 
of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  of  which  he  had  been  a 
member,  than  by  an  investigation  of  the  subject  at  that 
time.     It  is  as  follows,  viz.  : 

"  I  need  not  say  that  these  objections  have  been  prepared 
without  proper  opportunities  for  examination,  and  may 
contain  errors  of  fact  in  regard  to  certain  points  which  I  have 
presented ;  but   these   errors,  if   shown    to    exist,   will   not 


APPENDIX.  53 

diminish  my  confidence  in  the  justice  of  the  conckision  to 
which  I  have   arrived." 

Under  the  same  date,  "an  Act  to  establish  the  Eastern 
Avenue  Corporation,"  was  returned  to  the  Senate  by  the 
Governor,  with  a  brief  statement  of  objections,  conckiding 
thus  : 

"  It  is  Kkely  that  another  avenue  to  South  Boston  may,  at 
some  future  time,  be  constructed  ;  but  it  should  have  regard 
to  the  rights  of  individuals,  the  rights  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and,  above  all,  to  the  safety  of  the  harbor.  The  bill  to 
which  I  have  made  these  objections,  appears  to  me  to  be 
essentially  defective  in  all  these  particulars." 

The  final  report  of  the  Commissioners  is  dated  March  11, 
1852  ;  a  large  part  of  it  is  devoted  to  an  examination  of  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  the  flats  in 
Back  Bay,  and  to  a  consideration  of  the  plans  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  same. 

They  also  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  State  Com- 
mission upon  Boston  Harbor,  and  its  tributary  waters. 

A  part  of  the  duties  proposed  for  the  said  Board  of  perma- 
nent Commissioners,  is  "  to  watch  the  effect  upon  the  harbor, 
of  any  and  all  improvements  and  alterations  upon  the  shore, 
and  within  the  harbor  lines,  and  of  the  action  of  storms  upon 
the  islands  and  channels  in  the  bay,  and  report  the  same  to 
the  Legislature,  for  their  action,  or  application  to  Congress  in 
reference  thereto." 

In  reference  to  the  line  of  riparian  ownership,  they 
say,— 

"  Some  decisions  founded  on  this  ordinance  seem,  on  first  exam- 
ination, to  establish  the  principle,  that  this  propriety  in  flats 
belonging  to  the  land  adjoining,  though  it  be  but  a  liberty  to  ex- 
clude trespassers,  qualified  in  favor  of  sea  travel,  authorizes  the 
riparian  proprietors  to  take  exclusive  possession  of  such  flats,  and 
forever  exclude  the  sea  therefrom,  to  the  extent  of  low-water 
mark,  when  from  natural  causes  it  ebbs  the  lowest,  or  one  hun- 
dred rods  from  the  marsh  banks,  in  all  the ^  creeks,  coves  and 
other  places  about  and  upon  salt  Avater,  where  the  sea  ebbs  and 
flows,  in  Boston  harbor  and  its  tributary  waters.  If  such  be  the 
settled  construction  of  the  ordinance,  then  it  is  in  the  power  of 


54  APPENDIX. 

riparian  owners,  by  cutting  off  and  filling  up  the  heads,  channels 
and  tidal-wajs  of  such  creeks,  coves,  and  other  places,  to  com- 
plete, what  they  have  already  begun,  a  serious  and  irreparable 
injury  to  the  harbor,  and  the  state  and  national  interests  connect- 
ed therewith. 

"  It  is,  however,  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  that  in  all 
such  places,  at  full  sea,  there  is  a  public  right  of  way  for  water 
passage,  even  up  to  the  marsh  bank,  or  high  water  mark  ;  and 
that  the  State  has  the  right  to  insist,  for  the  safety  of  the  harbor, 
that  the  tide  shall  not  be  excluded  from  its  natural  and  ancient 
channels,  and  that  this  right  of  water-way  shall  not  be  impaired 
by  riparian  owners,  without  leave  first  being  obtained  in  legislative 
form. 

"  In  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  the  safety  and  conservation  of  Boston  harbor,  that  its 
tidal  basins  and  ways  in  all  the  creeks,  coves  and  rivers,  above  a 
sectional  line,  running  from  Fort  Hill  to  East  Boston,  should  be 
preserved  to  the  utmost  possible  extent.  If  any  filling  up  shall 
be  allowed,  an  equivalent  excavation  higher  up  should  be  required. 
No  language  is  strong  enough  to  express  the  importance  of  this 
matter  to  the  interest  of  the  State  in  the  harbor  ;  and  it  would 
be  wise  for  the  Legislature  to  pass  an  act  without  delay,  prohibit- 
ino"  the  diminution  of  any  of  the  upper  tidal  basins  and  ways  of 
Boston  harbor,  and  providing  for  the  payment  of  such  damages  as 
may  be  just,  if  any,  for  taking  private  property  for  public  uses. 
And  no  encroachments  whatever  upon  the  tide  waters  of  any  part 
of  the  harbor,  should  hereafter  be  allowed  to  be  made,  without 
notice  thereof  first  being  given  to  the  State,  or  its  commissioners, 
and  permission  duly  obtained  therefor. 

"  The  storms  are  wearing  away  the  headlands  and  islands,  ^ind 
shoaling  the  channels  in  the  lower  harbor;  and  the  indiscriminate 
and  planless  pushing  out  of  shore  improvements,  is  deranging  the 
currents,  and  filling  up  the  channels  and  tidal  basins  of  the  upper 
harbor.  Hence  the  natural  compensation  of  causes  afiecting  the 
conservation  of  the  whole  harbor,  has  become  disturbed.  The 
true  policy,  therefore,  in  regard  to  Boston  harbor,  is  a  conserva- 
tive one,  to  keep  it  as  near  as  may  be,  in  its  structural  relations, 
as  nature  made  it ;  and  it  ought  never  to  be  subjected  to  experi- 
mental treatment,  with  a  view  to  make  it  an  artificial  harbor,  by 
essentially  changing  its  roadstead,  or  the  form  and  direction  of 
any  of  its  natural  channels. 

"  All  of  our  existing  laws  in  aid  of  the  harbor,  regard  and  pro- 
tect it  as  consisting  of  two  principal  elements,  to  wit :  roadsteads 
and  channels :  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  neither 
of  these  essential  characteristics  should  ever  be  sacrificed,  or  put 
in  jeopardy,  by  any  land  or  wharf  enterprises  upon  its  shores,  to 
extend  beyond  the  harbor  lines  already  established  or  recommend- 


APPENDIX.  55 

ed  ;  and  these  lines,  which  have  been  drawn  and  fixed  at  so  large 
an  expense  to  the  State,  ought  never  to  be  disturbed  by  special 
legislation  or  otherwise,  for  anj  purpose  except  a  manifest  improve- 
ment of  the  harbor." 

An  act  for  the  extension  of  the  Boston  Wharf  was  again 
returned  to  the  Senate  by  Governor  Boutwell,  together  with 
his  objections  thereto.  By  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  Sen- 
ate, the  bill  was  passed  "notwithstanding  the  said  objec- 
tions," 29th  April,  1852. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Eastern  Avenue  Corporation,  1852, 
chap,  142,  was  approved  by  the  Governor,  April  24th. 

The  foregoing  extracts  have  been  made  with  care  for  the 
purpose  of  showing,  as  clearly  as  possible,  the  views  of  the 
several  Boards  of  Commissioners  upon  all  points  of  general 
interest  in  connection  with  the  harbor.* 


*It  has  been,  for  sorrve  years,  the  custom  of  the  General  Court  to  print  all  documents  of 
importaRce  that  come  before  them.  Subjoined  is  a  list  of  all  the  printed  documents  to  be 
found  referring  to  this  subject, — 

PRINTED  DOCUMENTS  OF  THE  SENATE. 

1836.    No.  3".    Bill  to  regulate  anchorage  of  vessels  in  Boston  Harbor. 
"     65.    Bill  to  incorporate  the  Boston  Wharf  Company. 

Report  of  Survey  of  Boston  Harbor.     See  House  Doct.  No.  63. 
Bill  to  establish  regulations  concerning  Boston  Harbor. 
Report  of  Committee  to  Survey  certain  parts  of  Boston  Harbor. 
Bill  concerning  Boston  Harbor. 

1846.  "      8.     Communication  from  Secretary  of  War  respecting  transfer  of  jurisdiction 

over  certain  islands,  and  act  ceding  over  Governor  and  Lovell's. 
"     59.     Resolve  in  relation  to  Flats 
"    30.    Report  and  Bill  to  confirm  an  act  authorizing  the  Boston  Wharf  Company  to 

extend  their  wharves 

1847.  "      4.     Message  from  the  Governor,  with  documents  relating  to  the  condition  of  the 

islands  in  Boston  Harbor. 

"  25.    Report  of  Committee  on  Flats. 

"  58,  78.     Bills  to  establish  regulations  for  the  Harbor  of  Boston. 

"  63.    Report  and  resolves  relating  to  Survey  of  the  Harbor. 

"  87.    Report  and  Bill  concerning  lines  in  the  same. 

"  97.    Amendment  to  above  bill. 

1848.  "  117     Report  and  Resolve  respecting  Flats. 

"  134.  Re[ifirt  and  Resolve  respecting  encroachments  in  the  Harbor. 

"  140.  Hill  additional  lo  establisii  regulations  concerning  Boston  Harbor. 

1849.  "    50.  Bill  ceding  to  the  United  States  jurisdiction  over  Great  Brewster,  &;c. 
"     53.  Report  of  Committee  on  Survey  of  Chelsea  Creek. 

"    54.  Preliminary  Report  of  Committee  on  Plats. 

"  119  Report  on  above  report,  and  Resolve  relating  to  tiats  in  the  Harbor. 

1850.  "      3.  Report  of  I  ommissioners  on  Flats  in  Harbor. 
"  U9.  Report  on  above  report. 

"     53  Memorial  of  Koxbury  respecting  Flats. 

"  115.  Resolve  additional  authorizing  survey  of  Back  Bay. 

"  101.  Bill  authorizing  extension  of  wharves  in  Boston  Harbor. 

1851.  "  12  i.  Report  and  Resolve  giving  further  time  to  Commissioners  to  make  final  report. 

1852.  "    44.  Hill  concerning  the  Boston  Wharf  Company. 
"  121.  Veto  ilessage  on  above. 

"    45.    Report  of  Conmiissioners  on  Boston  Harbor  and  Back  Bay. 
"  133.    Resolves  concerning  "         "  " 


1837. 

«     47. 

1839. 

«    30. 

1840. 

"      8. 

«    37. 

56  APPENDIX. 

DECISION    OF    THE    SUPREME    JUDICIAL    COURT. 

The  most  important  of  the  cases  arising  under  the  acts 
fixmg  the  harbor  lines,  mentioned  in  a  previous  part  of  this 
appendix  as  pending  before  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  has 
since  been  in  effect  decided.  Pursuant  to  an  order  of  the 
Senate,  the  Clerk  of  that  Board  procured  a  copy  of  the  opin- 
ion of  the  court  in  that  case  and  caused  it  to  be  printed.  It 
is  to  be  found  in  Senate  documents,  1853,  No.  1U9,  from 
which  the  abstract  given  below  has  been  made.  No  final 
judgment  has  been  given  in  the  case,  but  the  main  principles 
on  which  it  rests  are  stated  very  ably  and  elaborately  by  the 
court.  The  other  cases  remain  under  advisement.  They 
are  all  to  a  great  extent  within  the  principle  of  the  case  of 
the  Commojiwealth  vs.  Alger,  though  they  differ  from  it  in 
some  details  of  importance  to  the  parties  in  interest. 

SUPREME  JUDICIAL  COURT. 

Suffolk  County,  March  Term,  1853. 

Commonwealth  vs.  Alger. 

Mr.  Chief  Justice  Shaw  delivered  the  opinion  of  the 
Court. 

After  remarking  upon  the  great  importance  of  the  case,  as 
affecting  the  relative  rights  of  the  public  and  of  individual 
proprietors  in  the  soil  lying  on  tide  water  between  high  and 

printed  documents  of  the  house  of  representatives. 

Report  and  Bill  to  preserve  the  Harbor  of  Boston.    See  Senate  Doc.  47. 

Resolves  relating  to  Boston  Harbor. 

Bill  to  authorize  Boston  Wharf  Company  to  extend  their  wharf. 

JMeinorial   of  VVilliiim  Appleton   and  others  relating  to  flats  in  harbor  of 

Boston. 
Statement  of  Boston  Wharf  Company  relating  to  the   e.xtension   of  their 

wharves. 
Bill  to  cede  to  the  U.S.  jurisdiction  of  Minot's  Rock  in  Boston  Harbor  or  Bay. 
An  Act  to  establish   Refjulations  concerning  Harbor  of  Roston. 
Act  to  authorize  Boston  Wharf  Company  to  extend  their  wharf. 
Resolve  relating  to  flats  in  Harbor  of  Boston. 
Communication  from  Colonel  Thayer,  U.  S.  Engineers,  asking  cession  of 

Juiisdiction  of  part  of  Great  Brewster  Island. 
"  16G.    An  Act  to  preserve  that  part  ol   Boston  Harbor  called  (>helsea  Ci'eeb,  and  to 

prevent  encroachments  therein. 

1850.  "    74.    Report  on    Extension  of  Wharves  at   East   Boston,  stating  that  prnprietnrs 

of  wharves  and  flats  in  l-^ast  Boston  have  been  authorized  to  extend 
their  wharves  t  '  the  Commissioner's  line  e^Jtablished  by  the  act  entitled 
"An  Act  concerning  the  Harbor  of  Boston,"  passed  17th  March,  1840. 

"  141.  An  Act  in  addition  to  an  Act  to  preserve  the  Harbor  of  Boston,  and  to 
prevent  encroachments  therein. 

"  95.  Report  of  (/'omniittee  on  Mercantile  Aflfairs  and  Insurance,  on  petition 
of  Boston  Wharf  Company. 

1851.  "  106.    Report  of  Commissioners  on  Boston   Harbor  and  Back  Bay. 


1837. 

No.  63. 

18^9. 

"  6"). 

1845. 

«  57. 

1846. 

"  58. 

"  73. 

1847. 

"  98. 

«  157. 

"  140. 

1848. 

"  215. 

1849. 

"  59. 

APPENDIX. 


57 


low  water  mark,  and  stating  that  the  defendant  had  been 
indicted  at  the  June  term  of  the  Municipal  Court  in  1849,  for 
having  erected  a  wharf  beyond  the  Commissioners'  line,  so 
called,  in  Boston  Harbor,  in  violation  of  the  Statute,  1847, 
chapter  278,  the  learned  Chief  Justice  proceeded  to  say  that 
the  case  came  up,  on  the  report  of  the  judge  of  that  court 
who  tried  it,  and  that  the  uncontested  facts  were  these,  viz.  : 
The  defendant  was  and  had  been  for  more  than  thirty  years 
the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land,  consisting  of  upland  and  flats,  on 
or  near  Fourth  Street,  in  South  Boston,  bounded  on  an  arm 
of  the  sea  between  South  Boston  and  Boston  proper.  In 
1843  he  commenced  building  a  wharf  on  his  said  flats, but  did 
not  complete  it  till  after  the  Commissioners'  line  of  1847  had 
been  established,  after  which  time  he  built  a  certain  triangu- 
lar piece  of  the  wharf,  which  constituted  the  offence  charged 
in  the  indictment.  This  triangular  piece  was  beyond  the 
said  Commissioners'  line,  but  on  the  defendant's  own  flats, 
not  a  hundred  rods  from  the  upland,  nor  below  low  water 
mark,  and  it  did  no  injury  to  navigation. 

The  first  question  then  was,  what  were  the  right  of  own- 
ers of  land  bounding  on  salt  water  to  the  flats  over  which 
the  sea  ordinarily  ebbs  and  flows,  under  the  law  of  Massachu- 
setts ? 

In  disposing  of  this  question,  the  rights  of  owners  of  flats 
were  deduced  primarily  from  the  common  law  of  England 
and  the  charters  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  and  next 
from  the  ordinance  of  the  Colony,  passed,  probably,  in  1647, 
but  commonly  termed  the  ordinance  of  1641,  relating  to  the 
subject.  This  ordinance,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court, 
changed  the  antecedent  law  which  limited  the  right  of  pri- 
vate proprietors  to  ordinary  high  water  mark,  and,  subsequent- 
ly to  its  passage,  the  grantees  of  lands  bounding  on  sah 
water  took  an  estate  in  fee  in  the  land  between  high  and  \uw 
watermark,  subject  to  the  restriction  expressed  in  the  proviso 
of  that  ordinance,  and  to  such  other  limitations  of  absolute 
dominion  as  other  real  estate  is  subject  to,  for  the  benefit  and 
security  of  other  proprietors  and  of  the  public,  among  which 
limitations  were  these  ; — that  until  such  lands  were  enclosed 

H 


58  APPENDIX. 

and  while  they  were  covered  with  salt  water,  all  persons  had 
the  right  to  use  them  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  naviga- 
tion, and  that  such  lands  should  not  be  enclosed  or  built  upon 
so  as  to  impede  the  public  right  of  way  for  boats  or  vessels. 

Assuming  then  that  the  defendant  was  the  owner  in  fee  of 
the  soil  upon  which  the  wharf  was  built,  it  remained  to 
inquire  whether  it  was  competent  for  the  legislature  to  pass 
the  acts  establishing  the  lines  of  the  harbor  and  what  was 
the  legal  effect  of  those  acts. 

It  was  now  clear  that  the  Commonwealth  held  all  the 
powfsr  that  existed  anywhere,  to  regulate  and  dispose  of  the 
sea  shores  and  tide  waters  within  its  limits  and  all  lands 
under  them,  and  all  public  rights  connected  with  them,  but 
this  power,  however  derived,  was  held  in  trust  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  public,  and  the  question  was  whether  the 
acts  under  consideration  were  within  the  just  and  legitimate 
exercise  of  that  power.  The  object  of  those  acts  was  to 
prevent  injurious  obstructions  of  the  harbor  of  Boston  and 
to  secure  the  public  right  of  navigation,  an  object,  of  course, 
of  deep  interest  to  the  public.  The  principle  was  well  set- 
tled that  every  holder  of  property  in  the  Commonv/ealth  held 
it  subject  to  such  general  regulations  as  were  necessary  for 
the  public  welfare,  and  the  legislature  had  the  power  to  sub- 
ject rights  of  property,  like  all  other  social  and  conventional 
rights,  to  such  reasonable  restraints  and  limitations  as  the 
common  good  required.  This  power  was  very  different  from 
the  right  of  eminent  domain  which  authorized  the  taking  of 
private  property  for  public  use,  upon  condition  of  making 
reasonable  compensation  therefor.  It  was  rather  the  police 
power — the  constitutional  power  of  the  legislature  to  make 
all  manner  of  wholesome  laws  for  the  general  good. 

It  was  much  easier  to  perceive  the  existence  of  this  power 
than  to  mark  its  boundaries.  It  was  exercised  without  ques- 
tion in  the  enactment  of  laws  prohibiting  the  storage  of 
gunpowder,  the  erection  of  large  wooden  buildings,  the  exer- 
cise of  noxious  trades,  or  the  raising  of  dams,  in  particular 
localities.  In  cases  of  this  description,  though  the  prohibi- 
tion might  diminish  the  profits  of  the  owners  of  the   land 


APPENDIX.  59 

affected  thereby,  it  did  not  entitle  those  owners  to  compensa- 
tion. It  was  not  an  appropriation  of  their  property  to  a  pub- 
lic use,  but  the  restraint  of  an  injurious  private  use  of  it  by 
them,  and  therefore  not  within  the  principle  of  property  taken 
under  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 

This  distinction,  the  court  thought,  Avas  manifest  in  prin- 
ciple, though  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  different  cases 
were  so  various,  that  it  was  often  difficult  to  decide  whether 
a  particular  exercise  of  legislation  were  properly  attributable 
to  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  acknowledged  powers. 
In  this  connection  was  cited  the  case  of  the  Commonivealth 
V.  Tewkshury,  11  Metcalfs  Reports,  56,  wherein  it  was  held 
that  the  Stat.  1845,  eh.  117,  which  imposed  a  penalty  on 
any  person  who  should  remove  stones,  gravel  or  sand  from 
certain  portions  of  the  beaches  of  Chelsea,  being  passed  for 
the  protection  of  the  harbor  of  Boston,  extended  as  well  to 
the  owners  of  the  soil  as  to  strangers ;  and  that  this  was  not 
such  a  taking  of  private  property  for  public  use  as  to  render 
the  statute  unconstitutional,  though  it  provided  no  compen- 
sation to  the  owners  of  the  land  affected  by  it.* 

Some  weight  was  also  attached  by  the  court  to  the  consid- 
eration that  the  colonial  ordinance  which  extended  the  rights 
of  riparian  owners  to  low  water  mark  was  not  absolute  but 
qualified  with  the  reservation  affecting  the  right  of  naviga- 
tion. It  was  to  be  presumed  that  our  ancestors,  in  enacting 
that  ordinance,  had  in  view  the  rules  of  the  common  law,  and 
the  practice  under  them,  and  that  they  well  understood  that 
all  real  estate  granted  by  a  government  to  individuals  was 
subject,  by  reasonable  implication,  to  such  restraints  in  its  use 
as  should  make  its  enjoyment  by  the  grantee  consistent  with 
the  equal  enjoyment  by  others  of  their  several  and  common 
rights.  When,  therefore,  in  conferring  the  general  right,  they 
reserved  some  right  to  individuals  and  the  public  of  passing 
with  vessels,  but  without  defining  that  right,  it  seemed  rea- 
sonable and  just  to  construe  such  reservation  more  liberal- 

*By  the  Stat.  1846,  cli.  206,  the  statute  above  named  was  repealed  as  to  part 
of  the  beaches  owned  by  Mr.  Tewksbury,  and  $,500  were  ordered  to  be  paid  to 
him  from  the  treasury  "  as  an  indemnity  for  the  loss  suffered  by  him  under  the 
operation  of  said  Act,  by  reason  of  being  unnecessarily  debarred  from  the  use  of 
his  laadj  for  the  purpose,  as  was  intended,  of  securing  the  harbor  of  Boston  " 


60  APPENDIX. 

\y  in  favor  of  the  right  reserved  than  it  otherwise  would  be 
construed.  And  it  appeared  to  the  court  that  the  legislative 
power  of  restraining  the  injurious  use  of  real  estate  applied 
for  various  reasons  more  directly  to  land  separating  the  up- 
land from  the  sea,  than  it  did  to  inland  property  ordinarily 
used  for  agricultural  purposes.  For  reasons  before  given 
therefore,  the  court  held  that  the  legislature  had  the  right,  in 
the  exercise  of  the  police  power  before-mentioned,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  right  of  evnijient  domain,  to  pass  general 
laws  equally  affecting  all  riparian  proprietors  on  the  same 
line  of  shore,  reasonably  restraining  their  use  of  their  prop- 
erty, and  sanctioned  by  suitable  penalties.  Wherever  there 
was  a  general  right  on  the  part  of  the  public  and  a  general 
duty  on  the  part  of  individuals  to  respect  such  right  it 
was  competent  for  the  legislature  to  prescribe  a  precise  rule 
for  declaring  and  securing  it,  and  the  exercise  of  that  power 
was  in  most  cases  where  it  has  occurred,  of  very  great  utility. 
Such  cases,  for  example,  were  found  in  the  laws  regulating 
the  construction  and  repair  of  highways  and  bridges.  The 
court  referred,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  several  cases  estab- 
lishing the  right  of  the  public  to  have  innavigable  rivers 
kept  open  for  the  passage  of  fish  to  their  head  waters,  and 
particularly  to  the  case  of  Stoiighton  v.  Baker,  4  Mass.  Re- 
ports, 528,  in  which  it  was  held  that  the  legislature  had  the 
right,  in  1835,  to  require  fish  ways  to  be  made  through  a  dam 
across  the  Neponset  River,  which  had  been  erected  in  1633, 
in  pursuance  of  a  grant  from  the  colonial  government,  which 
grant  contained  no  reservation  providing  for  the  passage  of 
fish.  The  court  referred  also,  in  the  same  connection,  to  the 
provincial  act  of  15  Geo.  II.,  passed  in  1741,  by  which  it 
was  provided  that  fish  ways  should  be  constructed,  at  the 
expense  of  the  owners,  through  all  dams  erected  across 
streams  through  which  certain  kinds  of  fi^h  usually  passed, 
and  that  the  owner  of  any  dam  built  before  1709  should  be 
reimbursed  the  first  cost  of  such  fishways,  but  should  after- 
wards maintain  them  at  his  own  expense.  This  act  was 
declared  to  be  still  in  force,  in  the  case  of  the  Commonwealth 
vs.  Chapin,  5  Pick.  Reps.    199.     And   the  court    considered 


APPENDIX. 


61 


that  the  only  ground  on  which  laws  of  that  description  could 
have  been  made  and  adjudged  valid  was,  that  the  right  of 
soil  in  rivers  not  navigable  was  held  subject  to  a  public  right 
which  iiiight  be  declared  and  defined  by  legislative  enact- 
ments. In  reference  to  the  case  before  them,  the  court  con- 
cluded that  it  was  competent  for  the  legislature  to  make  a 
law  defining  the  harbor  lines,  and  that  it  was  for  the  legisla- 
ture, under  a  high  sense  of  their  duty  and  responsibility,  to 
make  such  reasonable  regulations  as  in  their  judgment  were 
necessary  to  protect  public  and  private  rights.  If  any  por- 
tion of  the  wharf  in  question  had  been  erected  beyond  the 
Commissioners'  line  before  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1847, 
then,  to  such  portion  that  act  did  not  apply.  The  laws  on 
this  subject  were  all  simply  prospective  in  their  operation.  If 
indeed,  before  their  passage,  any  one  had  so  built  into  navig- 
able water  as  to  cause  a  nuisance,  he  might  be  liable  to 
indictment  and  punishment,  but  not  under  those  laws.  And 
any  person,  who  had  built  on  his  own  soil,  before  those  laws 
were  enacted,  in  a  manner  not  amounting  to  a  public  nuisance 
at  the  time  of  the  erection,  had  only  exercised  his  lawful  right; 
and  any  law  to  punish  acts  lawful  at  the  time  they  were  done 
would  be  ex  post  facto  and  contrary  to  the  constitution  and 
to  the  plainest  principles  of  justice,  and  of  course  void. 

In  regard  to  the  fact  that  the  wharf  built  by  the  defend- 
ant did  not  obstruct  navigation,  that  circumstance  afforded 
no  defence.  It  had  been  held  by  the  court  that  the  law  was 
valid,  and  the  only  question  was  whether  the  structure  was 
within  or  beyond  the  prohibited  limit. 

The  Chief  Justice  concluded  as  follows,  viz. : 
"  On  the  whole,  the  court  are  of  opinion  that  the  act  fix- 
ing a  line  within  the  harbor  of  Boston  beyond  which  no 
riparian  proprietor  should  erect  a  wharf  or  other  permanent 
structure,  although  to  some  extent  it  prohibited  him  from 
building  such  structure  on  flats  of  which  he  owned  the  fee, 
was  a  constitutional  law,  and  one  which  it  was  competent 
for  the  legislature  to  make,  that  it  was  binding  on  the  de- 
fendant, and  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  its  penalties  if  he 
violated  its  provisions." 


62  APPENDIX. 


EEMARKS    OF    LIEUT.   C.    H.    DAVIS. 


The  following  extract  from  a  paper  among  the  ?*Iemoirs  of 
the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  written  by 
Lieut.  Charles  H,  Davis,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  deserves  consid- 
eration, Mr.  Davis  having  been  employed  to  execute  the  hydro- 
graphical  portion  of  the  survey  of  Boston  Harbor,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  and  having  been  led 
by  his  acquaintance  with  and  interest  in  the  subject,  as  a  na- 
tive of  Boston,  to  make  a  particular  examination  of  the  harbor, 
"  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  alterations  have  taken 
place  since  the  survey  of  Commodore  Wadsworth,  in  1817." 
He  thus  closes  a  series  of  very  interesting  scientific  re- 
marks,— 

"  To  do  justice  to  our  admirable  harbor,  unsurpassed  in  its  con- 
venience, security  and  ample  dimensions,  as  it  is  rarely  equalled 
in  its  beauty,  it  may  be  well  to  compare  it  with  a  few  of  the  prin- 
cipal maritime  ports  of  the  world, 

"  At  New  York  (to  begin  at  home)  there  are  twenty  or  twen- 
ty-one feet  of  water  on  the  bar,  and  the  mean  rise  and  fall  of 
tides  is  five  feet ;  the  depth  at  the  entrance  of  the  inner  harbor 
of  Boston  is  eighteen  feet,  and  the  mean  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides 
ten  feet ;  making  the  average  depth  in  the  two  places  about  the 
same.  Boston,  however,  enjoys  this  double  superiority, — that, 
while  at  New  York  the  bar  is  at  the  outer  entrance,  and  ships 
must  keep  the  sea  until  they  are  able  to  pass  it,  at  Boston  the  bar 
is  at  the  entrance  of  the  inner  basin,  vessels  are  landlocked  when 
they  reach  it,  and,  if  compelled  to  wait  for  the  tide,  can  lie  in 
safety  ;  and  Boston,  moreover,  has  several  excellent  roadsteads, 
in  which  New  York  is  comparatively  deficient. 

"  At  the  entrance  of  the  estuary  of  the  Mersey,  there  are  only 
eleven  feet  of  water  at  low  spring  tides  ;  but  the  rise  of  tide 
varies  from  twenty-one  to  thirty-one  feet.  The  construction  of  a 
new  harbor  of  refuge,  at  great  cost,  in  this  vicinity,  is  one  of  the 
splendid  enterprises  in  which  the  British  are  now  engaged.  The 
harbors  of  Dublin  are  artificial ;  a  bar  prevents  the  entrance  of 
large  vessels  into  the  river,  and  the  navigation  of  the  bay  is  very 
dangerous  in  stormy  weather.  The  channel  of  the  river  Clyde 
above  Greenwich  is  only  three  hundred  feet  wide,  and  at  Glas- 
gow there  is  now,  after  all  the  remarkably  successful  improve- 
ments made  in  the  navigation  of  the  river,  only  nine  feet  of  water 
at  low  neap  tides. 


APPENDIX.  63 

"  Hamburg,  tlie  greatest  commercial  city  of  Germany,  perhaps 
of  the  Continent,  can  only  be  approached  with  safety  at  all  times 
by  vessels  drawing  fourteen  feet  of  water,  though  vessels  drawing 
eighteen  feet  can  come  up  with  the  spring  tides.  Marseilles,  the 
great  emporium  of  the  South  of  France,  the  centre  of  nine-tenths 
of  the  commerce  of  France  with  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Mediterranean,  has  for  its  port  a  basin  three  thousand  feet  long, 
and  quite  narrow,  having  only  sixteen  or  eighteen  feet  of  water 
at  its  entrance,  with  no  perceptible  tide,  and  kept  open  only  by 
the  incessant  use  of  dredging-machines.  The  port  of  Havre  is 
kept  clear  by  artificial  means. 

"  But  the  best  idea  of  the  capacity  of  Boston  Harbor,  and  of 
the  most  suitable  mode  of  improving  its  conveniences  for  com- 
merce, is  obtained  by  comparing  it  with  London  in  some  particu- 
lars;  and  this  comparison  is  suggested  by  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners of  January,  1850.  It  is  recommended  in  this  report 
to  excavate  upon  the  flats  wet  docks,  in  imitation  of  London  and 
Liverpool,  and  a  plan  is  submitted  in  which  the  place  of  these 
docks  is  drawn,  above  low-water  mark.  This  recommendation  is 
founded  upon  a  total  misconception  of  the  nature  of  the  case,  and 
ignorance  of  the  actual  condition  of  Boston  Harbor.  Wet  docks 
have  been  constructed  in  London  at  an  enormous  cost,  because 
they  were  absolutely  indispensable.  As  the  commerce  enlarged, 
the  ships  that  entered  the  river  would  have  blocked  it  up,  and 
intercepted  all  passage,  had  they  not  been  drawn  out  on  one  side 
or  the  other.  The  maintenance  of  the  commercial  prosperity  of 
the  city  depended  on  having  some  auxiliary  space  into  which  to 
take  vessels  that  must  unavoidably  he  still  a  long  time,  while 
discharging,  loading,  repairing,  &c.  The  natural  room  was  too 
limited  ;  artificial  room  was  to  be  created.  In  the  case  of  Liver- 
pool, docks  are  required,  whatever  may  be  their  ■  expense,  if  a 
great  trade  is  to  be  sustained,  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  good 
anchoring-ground  in  the  Mersey,  and  because  it  would  not  under 
any  circumstances  be  either  safe  or  commodious  for  vessels  to  load 
and  discharge  cargoes  by  the  side  of  a  pier,  or  by  means  of  light- 
ers, where  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  is  thirty  feet.  The  cases, 
therefore,  of  Boston  and  London,  or  Liverpool,  are  essentially 
different. 

"  Neither  is  it  correct  to  speak  of  the  Atlantic  Dock  at  New 
York  as  belonging  to  the  same  system  as  the  Enghsh  docks.  The 
Atlantic  Dock  is  formed  by  the  enclosure  of  a  natural  water  area, 
deepened  and  improved  undoubtedly.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to 
say,  that  this  is  a  very  distinct  thing  from  the  construction  of  one 
of  the  London  docks,  occupying  ground  on  which  formerly  stood  a 
populous  parish,  with  its  dwellings  and  churches. 

"  But  while  the  London  docks  do  not  furnish  us  an  example  for 
imitation,  we  may  copy  with  advantage  the  plan  of  the  Atlantic 


64  APPENDIX. 

Dock.  The  water  area  of  the  London  docks  is  about  one  hundred 
and  eighty  eight  acres.  Now  the  whole  amount  of  the  water 
area  of  the  Fore  Point  Channel,  including  the  space  between  the 
wharves,  added  to  that  of  the  two  Mystic  Channels,  is  about  the 
same  as  the  water  area  of  the  London  docks.  So  far,  then,  from 
being  called  upon  to  excavate  wet  docks  on  the  South  Boston 
Flats  at  an  incalculable  cost,  we  have  merely  to  inclose  these  chan- 
nels suitably,  and  maintain  them  in  a  good  state,  to  have  at  once 
a  protected  water  area  equal  to  that  of  the  London  docks,  but 
having  this  remarkable  superiority  ;  that  by  far  the  greater  por- 
tion of  it  is  provided  with  natural  reservoirs  of  back-water,  which, 
if  properly  treated,  will  serve  always  to  keep  it  open.  And  to  all 
this  is  still  to  be  added  Chelsea  Great  Creek,  the  water  area  of 
which  is  in  itself  equal  in  amount  to  that  of  the  London  docks, 
and  which,  though  it  has  no  rear  receptacle,  possesses  in  its  natu- 
ral state  every  advantage  of  security  that  art  could  bestow. 

"  It  is  painful  to  see  opinions  so  erroneous,  upon  a  subject  of 
such  vast  importance  as  the  preservation  of  Boston  Harbor  and 
the  improvement  of  its  commercial  accommodations,  ofl&cially  and 
formally  laid  before  the  Legislature  of  the  State. 

"  If  the  Fore  Point  Channel  were  appropriately  walled  in, 
(there  being  already  sufficient  wharf-room,  and  if  the  proper 
accessories  were  provided,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not, 
considering  its  convenience  and  proximity,  take  the  place  in  Bos- 
ton Harbor  of  the  Atlantic  Dock  in  New  York.  At  present  it 
exhibits  a  melancholy  spectacle  of  resources  wasted  and  opportu- 
nities unimproved. 

"  Regret  is  sometimes  expressed  that  so  large  a  quantity  of  the 
tidal  marshes  and  mudlands  should  have  been  filled  during  the 
present  century.  But  this  operation  was  the  necessary  concomi- 
tant of  the  growth  of  the  city,  and  indeed  the  very  mode  of  its 
prosperity  and  increase.  The  statesmen  and  political  economists 
of  the  day  would  not  have  hesitated  to  sanction  and  encourage 
the  schemes  of  aggrandizement  of  enterprising  and  sagacious  pro- 
jectors, even  if  they  had  foreseen  that  one  of  their  results  would 
be  the  loss  of  water  capacity  in  the  main  channels  of  the  harbor. 
Their  part  was  to  lay  the  foundations  of  our  commercial  greatness  ; 
one  of  the  duties  devolved  upon  us,  is  to  preserve  and  improve  the 
instruments  of  commerce ;  and  with  prudent  measures  we  shall 
always  have  it  in  our  power  to  secure  to  Boston  Harbor  its  pres- 
ent reputation  of  being  one  of  the  safest  and  most  commodious  in 
the  world." 


APPENDIX. 


65 


COMMUNICATION    OF    JAMES    HAYWARD,    ESQ,. 

Boston,  April  18th,  1853. 
E.  H.  Eldredge,  Esq., — 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  received  your  note  of  Saturday,  re- 
questing from  me  "  a  statement  showing  that  the  attention  of 
eminent  engineers  and  of  scientific  societies  in  Europe,  has, 
for  some  years  been  directed  to  the  subject  of  tidal  harbors 
and  their  preservation ;  "  and,  also,  that  I  would  give  you 
my  "  views  upon  the  peculiar  wants  of  our  own  harbor,  and 
the  effect  of  recently  proposed  harbor  lines." 

As  to  the  first  of  these  inquiries,  it  may  be  sufficient  to 
say  that  the  subject  of  the  preservation  and  improvement  of 
harbors  has  engaged  the  attention  of  engineers  and  govern- 
ments in  Europe,  more  or  less,  for  many  centuries  back. 
For  a  century  back,  we  have,  in  considerable  detail,  the  his- 
tory of  tidal  rivers  and  harbors  in  Great  Britain.  For  that  pe- 
riod, these  rivers  and  harbors  have  been  professionally  treated, 
and  the  results  of  such  treatment  recorded  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  should  come  after.  Measures  for  the  preservation 
and  improvement  of  harbors  were  adopted  upon  theoretical 
principles  and  limited  observation  at  first,  and  the  results  of 
these  measures  observed  and  noted.  Mistakes  were  some- 
times made  : — but  even  these  mistakes  form  a  very  impor- 
tant portion  of  the  records  of  the  profession.  They  serve  as 
beacons  to  warn  others  against  taking  the  course  in  which 
their  predecessors  had  made  shipv/reck.  By  careful  observa- 
tion and  cautious  experiments,  together  with  minute  atten- 
tion to  the  modified  results  of  natural  agents,  produced  by 
artificial  appliances, — the  science  of  hydrography  has  grown 
up.  And  it  may  be  safely  said  that,  at  the  present  day,  the 
principles  of  no  branch  of  engineering  science  are  better  set- 
tled than  those  of  this  department  of  the  profession.  Occa- 
sional discoveries  were  earlier  made ;  but  it  was  not  till  the 
present  century  that  there  was  the  beginning  of  any  thing 
like  a  system  with  regard  to  engineering  practice  in  this  behalf. 
There  were  Smeaton,  and  Golborne,  and  Telford,  and  Nim- 
I 


66  APPENDIX. 

mo,  and  the  elder  Rennie,  who  made  important  contributions 
to  this  science  ;  but  much  has  been  added  more  recently. 
There  is  probably  no  one  subject  which  has  employed  more 
engineering  talent  or  engineering  labor  in  Great  Britain  during 
the  present  century,  than  hydrography.  Every  harbor,  even 
the  smallest,  has  had  its  resident  engineer  to  look  after  its  wel- 
fare. Besides  this,  for  many  years,  this  interest  has  been  the 
special  care  of  Government.  These  remarks  are  true  not  of 
Great  Britain  alone,  but  of  France,  Holland,  and  other  Euro- 
pean States.  We  have  more  details  of  the  history  and  pro- 
gress of  this  subject  in  Great  Britain  than  elsewhere.  A 
Board  of  Harbor  Commissioners  has  been  established  in  every 
port  of  any  importance  in  the  three  kingdoms.  And,  in  the 
8th  of  Victoria,  a  special  commission  was  appointed  by  the 
crown,  consisting  of  ten  gentlemen  connected  with  different 
branches  of  the  government,  who  were  authorized  and  direct- 
ed to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  entire  subject, 
and  to  propose  such  measures  for  the  preservation  and  im- 
provement of  the  harbors,  and  for  the  perfecting  of  the  sys- 
tem of  supervision  and  conservation,  as  they  should  judge 
best  calculated  to  promote  the  object  in  view.  These  gen- 
tlemen held  long  sessions ;  examined  engineers  and  others 
having  knowledge  of  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  various 
harbors,  and  the  necessities  and  conveniences  of  commerce 
at  the  various  sea-ports  in  the  kingdom  ;  and  then  decided 
on  certain  regulations  to  be  proposed  to  government  for  the 
better  management  of  these  trusts  ; — and  sent  to  the  different 
harbor  boards,  circulars  containing  the  proposed  regulations, 
for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  the  opinions  of  these  boards  as  to 
the  propriety  of  the  changes  proposed  to  be  introduced  in  the 
management  of  these  important  trusts.  To  give  some  idea 
of  the  magnitude  of  this  system  of  care  for  the  harbors  of 
Britain,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  state,  that  the  Commissioners 
received  answers  to  their  circular,  from  about  400  harbor 
boards. 

The  examinations  of  engineers  and  nautical  men  before 
the  "  Tidal  Harbor  Commissioners"  elicited  a  vast  amount 
of  information ;  and  showed  how  thoroughly  the  subject  had 


APPENDIX. 


67 


been  studied  and  how  well  it  was  understood.  The  records 
of  this  commission  contain  a  vast  number  of  reports  of  the 
most  eminent  engineers  in  the  country,  giving  details  of  their 
practice  and  experience  on  these  subjects.  These  reports  are 
elaborate  and  able,  and  they  constitute  a  fund  of  information 
for  the  commercial  inquirer,  and  a  treasury  of  science  on  this 
subject  for  the  hydographic  engineer.  The  great  success 
which  they  have  had  in  preserving  and  improving  tidal  rivers 
by  properly  directing  the  currents,  is  one  of  the  great  tri- 
umphs of  engineering  skill.  A  letter  which  I  received  within 
the  last  year  from  the  engineer  of  the  harbor  of  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  gives  a  striking  example  of  this  success.  "The 
size  of  vessels  " — ^he  says — "  frequenting  this  harbor  half  a 
century  ago,  was  about  10  or  15  tons ;  they  were  open  deck- 
ed fishing  boats.  Yesterday  the  H.  C.  Ridston,  1400  tons 
register,  a  sailing  ship,  left  the  harbor.  To  day  a  steamer  of 
1800  tons,  tomorrow  one  of  2245  tons  register  leaves  ;  and 
two  others,  each  2400  tons,  will  in  a  short  time.  These 
are  paddle  steamers,  and  do  not  frequent  the  Clyde  :  But  it 
is  no  unusual  thing  for  ships  of  600  or  700  tons  to  lie  at  the 
quays." — Other  analogous  cases  might  be  cited. 

With  regard  to  "  the  peculiar  Avants  of  our  own  harbor," 
respecting  which  you  inquire,  it  is  not  easy  to  answer  in  a 
few  words.  The  great  want  of  Boston  harbor, — which  in- 
cludes all  the  peculiar  wants, — is  "a  well  devised,  intelli- 
gent and  permanent  system  of  supervision  and  care.  The 
great  danger  to  the  harbor  is  the  piece-meal,  irregular  and  in- 
consistent legislation  which  we  have  in  relation  to  it. 

Cluestions,  supposed  directly  to  concern  the  harbor,  are 
usually  sent  to  the  Committee  on  Mercantile  Affairs  and  In- 
surance. This  Committee  is  changing  every  year ;  it  gener- 
ally consists  of  gentlemen  engaged  in  trade,  who  are  not  sup- 
posed to  be  specially  versed  in  the  philosophy  of  tidal  chan- 
nels and  tidal  currents.  Petitioners  for  grants  lay  before  that 
Committee  such  evidence  as  they  think  will  establish  their 
own  case  ;  probably  they  are  generally  honest  in  their  opin- 
ion of  its  propriety ;  for  people  usually  persuade  themselves 
that  what  they  want  is  reasonable.     There  being  perhaps  no 


68  APPENDIX. 

private  interest  opposed  to  the  legislation  asked  for  ;  and 
those  who  see  a  strong  public  objection,  yet  having  no  re- 
sponsibility in  the  case,  feel  it  to  be  an  ungracious  act  to  go 
up  to  the  legislative  hall  to  state  these  objections :  and  the 
objectionable  grant  is  made.  The  petitioners  for  Railroad 
grants  are  sent  to  another  Committee,  or  to  two  or  three 
other  Committees.  This  is  another  class  of  cases  which 
sometimes  affect  very  seriously  the  interests  of  navigation. 
Currents  are  turned  from  their  proper  course  ;  eddies  are  cre- 
ated ;  and  in  a  recent  instance  a  very  important  channel  and 
passageway  for  vessels  has  been  entirely  subverted  by  a 
charter  from  the  liCgislature  of  the  State.  And,  even  when 
these  Committees  are  most  anxious  to  avoid  mistakes,  they 
have  so  short  a  time  to  inform  themselves  as  to  the  facts 
and  the  deductions  to  be  drawn  from  them,  that  they  so  mis- 
apply the  general  principles  of  science  in  these  cases,  as  to 
put  one  in  mind  of  an  attempt  to  practice  the  healing  art 
from  a  book  of  recipes  by  a  man  unacquainted  with  the 
diagnosis  of  diseases.  The  truth  is,  that  every  case  in  hy- 
drography has  its  peculiar  characteristics ;  and  any  successful 
treatment  of  a  case  must  have  reference  to  all  these  peculi- 
arities. One  is  likely  to  do  great  mischief  by  undertaking  to 
prescribe  without  the  requisite  skill.  Take  a  single  illustra- 
tion. It  is  a  general  rule  that,  in  harbors  consisting  of  river 
channels, — like  Boston  harbor, — the  necessary  backwater  to 
scour  out  these  channels  should  be  carefully  preserved.  This 
has  been  so  often  repeated  that  there  are,  in  this  community, 
few  men  who  have  not  a  general  notion,  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct, of  the  truth  and  importance  of  this  axiom.  The  mis- 
fortune is,  that  there  are  many  people  who  undertake  to  play 
the  engineer  on  these  subjects,  of  whom  this  axiom  consti- 
tutes the  chief,  if  not  the  entire  "  stock  in  trade."  They  are 
not  aware  that  there  may  be  danger  from  too  much  scour  as 
well  as  from  too  little.  Nor  is  the  quantity  of  scour  the  only 
or  the  principal  thing  to  be  cared  for  in  the  preservation  of  a 
harbor.  The  direction  of  this  reflux  current  in  every  part  of 
the  channels,  and  especially  in  those  parts  used  for  naviga- 
tion, is  a  most   important   circumstance.     There  are  other 


APPENDIX.  69 

peculiarities  in  relation  to  this  scouring  process,  equally  im- 
portant. One  single  fact  further  in  illustration.  A  harbor  in 
the  south  of  Europe,  which  formerly  had  two  rivers  empty- 
ing their  waters  into  the  extreme  upper  part  of  that  harbor, 
— somewhat  as  the  Charles  and  the  Mystic  empty  their 
waters  into  Boston  Harbor, — was  found  to  be  fast  filling  up. 
Indeed  vast  expenditures  were  required  to  keep  the  harbor 
open,  and  preserve  the  proper  depth  of  water  for  navigation. 
It  was  finally  decided  by  the  engineers  to  change  entirely 
the  courses  of  these  rivers,  so  that  they  should  not  flow  at 
all  into  the  harbor  proper.  And  their  courses  were  turned 
in  a  manner  analogous  to  what  would  be  done  here,  if 
Charles  river  were  carried  through  the  low  part  of  Roxbury 
into  Dorchester  Bay,  and  Mystic  River  were  carried,  through 
Chelsea  or  the  back  part  of  East  Boston,  into  the  deep  water 
back  of  Governor's  Island.  It  turned  out  that  the  engineers 
were  right  in  their  opinions  : — by  this  change  one  of  the 
best  harbors  in  Europe  was  saved  probably  from  entire  de- 
struction. But  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  infer  from  the 
statement  of  this  case,  that  this  is  the  proper  treatment  for 
every  other  harbor  in  which  it  should  be  found  that  bars  were 
forming  and  the  channels  were  becoming  less  deep.  There 
were  peculiar  circumstances  attending  this  case,  W'hich  made 
the  treatment  adopted  by  the  engineers  the  only  proper 
remedy  for  the  evil.  And  every  case  has  its  peculiarities  and 
should  be  treated  with  a  skilful  reference  thereto.  To  this 
end, — and  this  remark  applies  with  peculiar  force  to  Boston 
Harbor, — it  is  not  sufficient  that  there  have  been  careful 
and  ample  surveys  of  the  channels  and  flats,  and  examina- 
tions of  the  currents  ;  that  the  characteristics  of  the  former 
are  recorded  with  sufficient  minuteness  upon  charts,  and  the 
latter  are  indicated  in  reports.  They  should  be  under  the 
supervision  and  responsible  care  of  an  authority  which 
should  not  be  subject  to  perpetual  change ;  and  should  be 
carefully  watched  and  occasionally  re-examined,  so  that  no 
great  change  can  take  place  without  the  .knowledge  of  the 
Board  which  have  the  harbor  in  custody.  And  when  there 
is  a  tendency  to  deterioration  the  proper  preventives  should 


70  APPENDIX. 

be  seasonably  used,  which  will  be  likely  to  save  the  public 
from  the  necessity  of  large  expenditures  for  remedy  ig,  the  end. 

In  reply  to  your  inquiry  as  to  my  opinion  of  "  the  effect  of 
recently  proposed  harbor  lines," — ^I  must  say  that  I  look  upon 
that  experiment  with  the  greatest  apprehension  for  the  safety 
of  the  main  channel.  The  very  proposition,  to  adopt  these 
lines  as  boundary  lines  of  the  harbor,  implies  that  the  flats 
lying  between  these  lines  and  the  shore  are  to  be  granted  to 
somebody  for  the  uses  of  commerce.  The  next  step,  therefore, 
will  probably  be,  to  authorize  the  occupancy  of  these  flats  by 
either  solid  or  pile  wharves,  as  shall  be  the  opinion  of  the 
legislature  at  the  time  the  grant  is  made.  This  done  and 
the  structures  built,  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  no  water 
(or  from  0  to  3  feet)  at  low-water,  at  these  wharves ;  and  the 
proprietors  of  the  same,  finding  their  wharves  from  1200  to 
1500  feet  from  the  navigable  channel,  will,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  ask  permission  of  the  legislature  to  excavate  the 
flats  between  their  property  and  the  main  channel  ;  so  that 
they  can  get  their  vessels  in  and  out  of  their  docks.  This 
will  then  be  thought  a  measure  of  necessity,  and  will  be 
likely  to  be  granted :  and  the  result  of  this  will  be  the  ruin 
of  the  main  channel :  for,  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  broken 
between  these  lines  and  that  channel,  the  current  at  ebb  tide, 
which  is  very  strong  in  the  latter  half  of  the  ebb, — and  which 
in  consequence  of  modern  structures,  sets  strongly  upon  that 
side  of  the  channel, — will  very  materially  aid  this  process  of 
excavation,  and  will  sweep  this  material  into  the  main  chan- 
nel. Thus,  from  30  to  60  per  cent,  would  eventually  be 
added  to  the  width  of  this  channel,  and  about  the  same  pro- 
portion subtracted  from  its  depth. 

This  widening  of  the  channel,  however,  would  not  be 
likely  to  proceed  with  regularity ;  some  parts  of  the  bottom 
would  probably  be  found  to  be  much  harder  than  other  parts ; 
(indeed  there  is  existing  evidence  of  this  diversity  of  char- 
acter in  the  flats,)  and  the  channel  would,  at  no  very  dis- 
tant day,  become  essentially  injured,  if  not  entirely  destroyed. 
That  it  would  be  unsafe  to  disturb  the  surface  of  the  flats  be- 
tween the  proposed  harbor  lines  and  the  main  channel,  there 


APPENDIX. 


71 


is  unmistakable  evidence.  Since  the  harbor  survey  of  1836, 
many  thousand  tons  of  earth  have  been  washed  from  these 
jflats  into  the  channels  by  the  ordinary  operation  of  the  daily 
tides,  in  consequence  of  the  surface  being  broken  by  the 
keels  of  vessels  and  other  accidental  causes.  How  much 
greater  would  be  the  exposure,  if,  along  the  margin  of  the 
channel,  the  surface  of  the  flats  should  be  broken  up  by 
dredging  machines  and  left  to  the  constant  action  of  the 
tides,  at  the  place  where  their  power  is  greatest !  There  is 
already  an  unhealthy  action  going  on  in  the  main  channel, 
occasioned  by  artificial  causes.  It  is  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance to  the  interests  of  commerce,  and  therefore  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  City  and  the  State,  that  nothing  should  be  done 
to  increase  this  deleterious  action  ,•  but  rather  that  this  work 
of  deterioration  should  be  stayed  before  we  are  brought  to 
the  necessity  of  choosing  between  an  immense  expense  to 
save  the  harbor,  and  an  entire  destruction  of  it  as  a  place  for 
large  vessels. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  South  Boston  flats,  outside  the 
line  of  private  ownership,  will  not  be  appropriated  till  there 
shall  be  established,  in  connexion  with  their  occupancy,  a 
system  which, — while  it  shall  add  greatly  to  the  commercial 
conveniences  of  this  port, — shall  secure  the  safety  and  per- 
fection of  the  main  harbor  channel. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  present  necessity  for  the 
establishment  of  harbor  lines  on  that  shore.  The  outer  line 
which  is  proposed  as  the  limit  beyond  which  no  wharves 
shall  ever  be  built,  is  more  than  three-eighths  of  a  mile  out- 
side the  line  of  private  ownership,  more  than  three-eighths  of 
a  mile  from  any  improvements  for  trade  on  that  part  of  the 
harbor,  and  nearly  tliree-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  general 
line  of  any  such  improvements.  There  is  therefore,  no  oc- 
casion for  legislative  action  at  present  in  this  behalf:  And  it 
is  better  to  wait  till  a  system  can  be  matured  which  will 
give  the  greatest  amount  of  commercial  convenience,  and  at 
the  same  time  secure  the  safety  of  the  harbor. 
Yery  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

JAMES  HAYWARD. 


72  APPENDIX. 


RESOLUTIONS    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL. 

CITY    OF    BOSTON. 


In  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  Nov.  24,  1823. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men be  authorized  to  cause  a  geometrical  survey  of  Deer  and 
Rainsford  islands  to  be  made,  and  also  of  any  other  islands, 
whose  preservation  they  shall  deem  peculiarly  important  for 
the  safety  of  the  harbor  of  this  City  ;  also,  to  cause  sufficient 
stakes  or  strong  monuments  to  be  placed  at  suitable  and 
measured  distances  from  the  present  external  line  of  such 
parts  of  the  bank  of  said  islands,  as  are  exposed  to  be  worn 
away  by  the  action  of  the  waves  or  of  tempests,  and  to  cause 
such  surveys  of  the  relative  position  of  such  stakes  or  mon- 
uments to  the  bank  and  to  one  another  to  be  made,  and  such 
plans  to  be  taken  and  preserved,  as  may  enable  the  City  au- 
thorities in  any  future  years  to  ascertain  the  nature  and 
degree  of  loss  annually  sustained  from  the  elements,  on  such 
islands. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  a  Committee  of  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
drafting  a  respectful  memorial  to  the  National  Legislature, 
setting  forth  the  great  and  successive  dilapidation  of  these 
islands,  their  importance  to  the  harbor,  and  to  the  shipping, 
as  a  barrier  and  shelter  in  storms  and  tempests,  and  soliciting 
an  efficient  appropriation,  to  be  expended,  either  under  the 
direction  of  the  City  authorities,  or  under  such  superintend- 
ence as  the  general  government  may  appoint,  for  their  perma- 
nent preservation,  and  that  the  said  memorial,  when  prepared, 
be  laid  before  the  City  Council  for  consideration  and  adop- 
tion. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  same  committee  be 
authorized  also  to  prepare  a  respectful  memorial  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  this  Commonwealth,  stating  the  tenor  of  the  me- 
morial mentioned  in  the  preceding  vote,  and  praying  the 
countenance  and  support  of  the  State  authorities  in  behalf  o 


APPENDIX.  73 

the  said  application  of  the  City  to  the  General  Government, 
for  the  objects  specified  in  their  said  memorial. 

Resolved,  That  the  same  committee  be  authorized  to  apply 
to  the  State  Legislature  for  an  act,  prohibiting  under  efficient 
penalties,  the  removing  or  carrying  away  of  stones,  for  ballast 
or  any  other  purpose  from  the  shores  of  any  of  the  islands  in 
the  harbor,  under  such  restrictions  and  conditions,  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  Legislature  may  seem  expedient. 

Sent  down  for  concurrence.     Came  up  concurred. 

Read  and  concurred. 

Boston,  March  29,  1852. 
A  true  copy  from  the  records  of  the  City  of  Boston. 
Attest,-—        SAML.  F.  McCLEARY,  Jr.,  City  Clerk. 


Vote  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Marifie  Society. 

At  a  trustee  meeting  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  held  at 
the  Marlboro'  Hotel,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  June,  1829,  the  fol- 
lowing communication  received  from  a  committee  of  the 
City  Council,  relative  to  a  communication  from  the  Mayor  of 
the  City  of  Boston,  on  the  subject  of  the  flats  ;  it  was  voted, 
that  Winslow  Lewis,  Esq.  be  requested,  as  a  committee,  to 
bring  the  subject  before  the  Marine  Society  at  their  next 
meeting,  (this  day)  and  to  obtain  their  views  and  opinions  as 
to  the  expediency  of  the  measures  recommended,  and  to 
report  to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  City 
Council. 

After  a  deliberate  discussion  on  the  subject  of  the  above 
application,  it  was  unanimously 

Voted,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Board  that  a  wharf  or 
breakwater,  commencing  at  the  dolphin  lately  put  down  on 
the  flats  opposite  the  draw  on  the  east  side  (3f  South  Boston 
Free  Bridge,  and  continued  to  the  end  of  said  flats,  opposite 
to  Central  wharf,  would  have  the  effect  of  deepening  the 
J 


74  APPENDIX. 

channel  within  it,  which  is  daily  becoming  more  shallow  to 
an  alarming  degree,  and  would  be  a  means  of  greatly  protect- 
ing the  wharves  in  that  section  from  easterly  winds,  and 
would  add  much  to  the  facility  of  navigation  in  the  harbor  of 
Boston. 

A  true  copy  from  the  record. 

Attest, —  Thomas  English,  Secretary. 

The   above  is  a  true  copy  of  a  paper  accompanying  the 
petition  of  the  City  of  Boston,  and  filed  with  said  petition. 

Attest,—  CHARLES   CALHOUN, 

Clerk  of  the  Senate. 


Extract  from  a  letter  from  Gen.  Totten,  of  the  Engineers' 
Department,  to  Hon.  William  Appleton,  in  answer  to  inqui- 
ries made  at  the  request  of  the  Committee,  as  to  the  appro- 
priations by  Congress  for  the  construction  of  the  sea  wall 
upon  the  Great  Brewster  Island,  and  the  amount  necessary 
to  complete  the  work. 

"  In  compliance  with  the  further  desire  of  the  Department, 
Col.  Thayer  made  an  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to 
complete  the  work,  over  and  above  the  sum  already  applica- 
ble ;  which  estimates  was  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  with  the  estimates  for  Rivers  and  Harbors  on 
the  Atlantic,  the  amount  being     -        -       .-         $32,700.00 


The  first  appropriation  for  tliis  work,  July  20,  1848,  $40,000.00 

The  next,  and  last,  August  30,  1852,     -         -         -  30,000.00 


"  Wanted  to  complete,  according  to  the  estimates  of  Col. 
Thayer,  $32,700,  provided  the  work  can  go  on  continuous- 
ly,— excepting  from  the  interruption  of  winter, — and  this 
may  be  the  case,  if  the  requisite  grant  is  made  early  in  the 
next  session.  If  there  is  another  suspension  of  operations, 
the  cost  will  be  magnified  materially." 

Dated  Engineer  Department,  Washington,  March  17,  1853. 


APPENDIX. 


W: 


The  following  table  showing  the  comparative  size  of 
the  vessels  registered  in  this  District,  together  with  the  ac- 
companying list,  were  prepared  by  General  Andrews  of  the 
Registry  Office,  Boston  Custom  House. 

Vessels  Measured  at  Boston. 


Years  Meas'd. 

No.  Vessels. 

Denomination. 

Tonnage. 

Av.  Tonnage. 

Total. 

1800 

9 
No  barks 

Ships,           2,247 
measured  this  year. 

250 

2,247 

1844 

16 
16 

Ships, 
Barks, 

8,365 

4,624 

523 

289 

12,989 

1845 

15 

16 

Ships, 
Barks, 

8,380 
4,317 

558 
269 

12,697 

1849 

20 
16 

Ships, 
Barks, 

14,162 
4,416 

708 
276 

18,578 

1850 

23 
12 

Ships, 
Barks, 

21,291 
4,392 

926 
366 

25,683 

1851 

27 
11 

Ships, 
Barks, 

27,535 
3,430 

1,019 
311 

30,965 

1852 

35 
4 

Ships, 
Barks, 

35,057 
1,278 

1,001 
319 

36,335 

From  Jan.  1  ~ 
toOct.1,'53, 

I      35 
\       5 

Ships, 
Barks, 

43,257 
1,563 

1,236 
313 

44,820 

Tonnage  of  Ships  and  Barks  registered  at  the  Boston 
Custom  Souse. 


Hate. 

Name  of  Vessels. 

Tons. 

Date. 

Name  of  Vessels. 

Tons. 

1850. 

Aug. 

16, 

Bark  Ella, 

196 

January  9, 

Ship  "William  Sturgis, 

650 

21, 

Ship  Gentoo, 

747 

10, 

"     Clara  Wheeler, 

996 

Sept. 

3, 

"     Shirley, 

911 

10, 

«    Tirrell, 

943 

24, 

"     John  Bryant, 

722 

April 

18, 

"    Moses  "Wheeler, 

872 

24, 

Bark  Geo.  E.  Webster 

354 

May- 

3, 

"    Greenwich, 

787 

28, 

Ship  Antarctic, 

1116 

4, 

Bark  Rhone, 

360 

28, 

"    John  H.  Jarvis, 

741 

13, 

"    Wabash, 

299 

Oct. 

9, 

"    Prospero, 

646 

14, 

Ship  Hemisphere, 

949 

15, 

"     Surprise, 

1262 

21, 

"     Trimountain, 

1032 

25, 

"    Union, 

688 

June 

8, 

"     Sachem, 

718 

28, 

Bark  Sumpter, 

381 

15, 

"     Cornelius  Grinell 

1118 

Not. 

12, 

Ship  Art  Union, 

750 

19, 

Bark  Kremlin, 

470 

16, 

Bark  Behring, 

376 

26, 

'•    May  Queen, 

325 

18, 

"    Paragon, 

309 

July 

6, 

"     Sultana, 

452 

22, 

Ship  Meridian, 

1285 

30, 

"     Race  Horse, 

514 

Dec. 

5, 

"    Daniel  "Webster, 

1188 

Aug. 

2, 

"     Isabella, 
Ship  President, 
"    Berkshire, 

356 

1091 

21, 

"     Stag  Hound, 

1534 

16, 

615 

25,683 

76 


APPENDIX. 


Date.  Name  of  Vessels. 

1851. 
Jan'ry  16,  Ship  Witchcraft, 

16,  "     John  Bertram, 

21,  "     Gamecock, 
March    7,      "     Hamlet, 

7,  Bark  Ivedar, 
15,      "     Ala, 

17,  Ship  Shooting  Star, 

22,  "    Napoleon, 
27,      "     Andes, 

April      9,  Bark  Edisto, 

26,  Ship  Flying  Cloud, 
May       1,  Bark  Mermaid, 

1,  Ship  Southern  Cross, 

8,  "     Telegraph, 
12,  Bark  Echo, 

30,  Ship  Syrene, 
30,      "     Courser, 
July       8,  Bark  Chester, 
Aug.      1,  Ship  Staflordshirc, 
6,  Bark  J.  H.  Duvall, 
20,  Ship  John  Wade, 
20,      '•    E.  B.  Forbes, 
29,      "     Coringa, 
29,      "     Sam'l  Lawrence, 
29,  Bark  Georgiana, 
29,  Ship  Caroline, 


Oct.      13,      " "  Eobert  Harding, 
13,      "    North  America, 
20,      "     Susan  Hincks, 

Nov.       5,      «    Flying  Fish, 

12,  "     Geo.  Washington, 
15,      "    Northern  Light, 
19,  Bark  Modena, 

Dec.       5,      "     Sea  Bird, 
6,  Ship  Antelope, 

13,  Bark  Kocket, 
Dec.     30,  Ship  Hoocrly, 

31,  St'mship  Eajah  Wallie, 


Tons. 

1310 

1081 

1392 

757 

347 

464 

903 

649 

450 

366 

1782 

533 

938 

1069 

196 

1064 

1025 

200 

1817 

200 

639 

756 

701 

1035 

195 

722 

765 

1464 

783 

1505 

1534 

1021 

200 

334 

507 

395 

1304 

562 


Jan'y 
Febr'y 

May 


June 


July 


27, 

4, 

5, 

4, 

6, 

8, 

27, 

28, 

16, 

19, 

19, 

24, 

25, 

1, 

16, 

^^' 
August  2, 

10, 

13, 

17, 


30,965 

1852. 

Ship  Dauntless,  791 

"     Ocean  Eagle,  597 

"     Polar  Star,  667 

Bark  Old  Hickory,  432 

Ship  Beverly,  676 

"     Lady  Franklin,  464 

"    Lanark,  299 

"    Ellen  Foster,  997 

"     Cape  Cod,  774 

"     Sov'n  of  the  Seas,  2421 

"     Stephen  Glover,  733 

Steamship  Sir  J.  Harvey,  620 

"     City  of  Boston,  559 

Bark  Thorndike,  399 

Ship  Polynesia,  1084 

'=     Onward,  874 

"    Winged  Arrow,  1052 

"     Golden  Fleece,  968 

Bark  Celistia,  248 

Ship  Celestial  Empire,  1395 


Date.              Name  of  Vessels.  Tons. 

Sept.      6,  Ship  Malay,  868 

17,  "     Gem  of  the  Ocean,  702 

28,  "     John  Gilpin,  1089 
Oct.        5,  "    Agnes,  929 

11,  "  Westward  Ho,  1650 
27,  "     Queen  of  the  Seas,  1356 

Nov.       6,  "     Whirlwind,  961 

10,  "    Alexander,  596 

12,  "  Lotus,  660 
12,  "  Winged  Eacer,  1767 
22,  "    Bald  Eagle,  1704 

29,  "    Golden  Eagle,  1121 
Dec.      4,  "    National  Eagle,  1049 

9,  "     Golden  West,  1441 

14,  "    Flying  Childers,  1126 

20,  "     Star  of  the  Union,  1057 

21,  "  Hussar,  721 
24,  Bark  Richmond,  199 
31,  Ship  Phantom,  1289 


Total,         36,335 

1853. 

Jan'y    13,  Ship  Mountain  Wave,  633 

28,      "    Emp'ss  of  the  Sea,  2197 

28,      "     Golden  Light,  1141 

31,      "     Champion,  1023 

Feb'ry    1,      "    Eadiant,  1318 

1,      "     Mystery,  1155 

March    5,      "     Storm  King,  1289 

18,      "     Climax,  1051 

24,      "     Competitor,  1871 

April      1,      "     Queen  of  Clippers,  2361 

1,      "     Star  of  Empire,  2050 

1,      "     Cleopatra,  1563 

1,  Bark  Firefly,  401 

18,  Ship  John  Land,  1065 
May       5,      "     Wizard,  1601 

10,  Bark  Wildfire,  338 

10,  Ship  West  Wind,  1071 

20,      "     White  SwalloAV,  1192 

24,  "     Shawmut,  1035 

25,  "     Waverley,  750 

26,  "     Water  Witch,  1204 
June       3,      "     Chariot  of  Fame,  2500 

14,  "     Wild  Eanger,  1045 

15,  «  Bronita,  1127 
17,  Bark  Daniel  Webster,  264 

July        5,  Ship  Whistler,  942 

6,      "     Amphritrite,  1686 

26,  Bark  Young  Turk,  343 

22,  Ship  Edith  Eose,  510 

30,  Bark  Tally  Ho,  217 

Aug.    25,  Ship  Fearless,  1184 

30,      "    Matchless,  1033 

Sept.      1,      "     Lightfoot,  1996 

9,      "     Ocean  Pearl,  847 

19,  "  Sea  Flower,  1024 
28,  "  King  Fisher,  1286 
30,      '=    Neptune,  1033 

Oct.        1,      "     Keporter,  1474 


Total, 


44,820 


APPENDIX. 


77 


E.  H.  Eldsedge,  Esq. 

Dear  Si?' :  In  reply  to  your  letter  requesting  information 
from  the  Pilots  of  Boston,  in  reference  to  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  the  Channels,  and  the  state  of  the  Islands 
in  the  lower  harbor,  my  opinion  is  based  upon  an  experience 
of  forty-five  years,  the  changes  in  that  term  of  years  have 
proved  detrimental,  and  they  will  continue  to  increase  un- 
less those  changes  are  met  with  the  interest  that  a  subject  of 
so  much  importance  demands.  The  Islands  and  headlands 
have  been  constantly  wasting  away,  and  of  course  washing 
their  waste  matter  into  the  Channels,  thereby  creating  and 
adding  to  the  shoal  bottom.  The  Great  Brewster,  which  is 
now  partially  protected  by  a  Sea  Wall,  has  been  too  much 
neglected  ;  it  should  be  finished  with  all  the  despatch  that  can 
be  practically  applied,  if  not,  the  wasting  away  of  that  Island 
will  prove  the  ruin  of  our  harbor,  but  if  properly  fortified  with 
a  piece  of  masonry,  such  as  it  requires,  succeeding  genera- 
tions will  appreciate  it  as  a  valuable  legacy,  for  it  will  be  the 
main  protector  of  our  harbor  and  channels,  and  the  basis 
on  which  we  must  depend  for  the  future  increase  of  our  com- 
mercial interests. 

There  are  other  points  that  claim  the  consideration  of  all 
who  are  interested  in  this  subject,  viz  :  The  Narrows  —  the 
main  ship  channel  —  removing  the  top  surface  from  the 
beaches  bordering  on  the  Narrows  is  injurious,  and  has  prov- 
ed itself  so,  especially  from  the  beach  of  Gallop's  Island,  as 
the  south  gales  sweep  across  it  and  wash  the  loose  matter  into 
the  channel.  The  southeast  and  northwest  points  of  Lovell's 
Island  have  made  and  are  making  out  into  the  Narrows  ;  — 
also  the  northwest  point  of  the  Spit,  which,  if  not  arrested 
from  further  progress,  will  be  the  cause  of  material  injury. 

To  prevent  further  encroachment  in  the  Narrows,  it  is  the 
opinion  of  all,  who  are  practically  informed,  that  a  break- 
water built  across  Black  Rock  from  Lovell's  Island  to  the 
Spit  would  be  a  sure  protection  to  that  channel,  as  it  would 
turn  the  force  of  the  rapid  cross-current   natural   to    Black 


78  APPENDIX. 

Rock,  and  create  a  regular  current  in  the  Narrows  ;  the  va- 
rious currents  running  into  the  Narrows  have  caused  eddies, 
and  the  extension  of  the  points,  which  if  allowed  to  increase, 
willin  time  entirely  obstruct  that  passage. 

Other  material  improvements  might  be  made  in  the 
harbor,  that  would  create  a  confidence  in  all  who  have 
to  navigate  it.  Barrel  Rock  in  Broad  Sound  should  be 
removed,  and  large  prominent  beacons  and  buoys  placed 
in  proper  positions.  Such  valuable  acquisitions  should  not 
be  out  of  place  to  act  as  decoys,  but  rather  as  guides, 
that  all  who  are  dependent  upon  them  may  have  an  im- 
plicit reliance  that  they  are  truly  positioned.  Such  is  not 
the  case  with  many  of  the  beacons  recently  built.  The  in- 
ner harbor  should  also  receive  some  notice  ;  much  good  may 
arise  through  the  introduction  of  more  prominent  buoys,  lo- 
cated properly  ;  and  dredging  away  the  upper  middle  would 
improve  the  capacity  of  our  harbor  in  that  vicinity.  I  would 
also  suggest  to  you  the  propriety  of  erecting  landmarks  upon 
the  Graves,  Outer  Brewster  and  Egg  Rock,  so  they  may  be 
distinguished  from  each  other  when  made  in  thick  weather, 
and  there  should  be  a  beacon  erected  upon  the  Harding's 
Rocks,  which  are  so  much  dreaded  by  all  approaching  the 
Harbor  in  thick  weather. 

My  opinion  is,  that  all  of  the  headlands  that  are  openly 
exposed  to  the  force  of  the  easterly  gales  should  be  protected 
by  sea-walls. 

I  do  not  suggest  these  few  ideas  with  any  selfish  interest, 
either  personal  or  professional,  but  for  the  general  good,  as  it 
is  daily  demonstrated  in  the  perseverance  of  the  merchants, 
the  increase  of  commercial  business,  as  well  as  the  enormous 
increase  in  the  tonnage  of  ships,  that  the  public  should  turn 
their  attention  to  the  preservation  of  our  fine  harbor,  without 
which  Boston  would  be  a  mere  cypher  in  the  catalogue  of 
commercial  cities. 

I  am  respectfully  yours,  &c. 

HENRY  GURNEY. 


APPENDIX.  79 


Extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Light  House  Board,  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  dated  January  30,  1853. 

BOSTON   LIGHT. 

Revolving  sea-coast  and  harbor  light.  William  Long,  prin- 
cipal and  only  keeper  —  was  a  sea  captain.  Fourteen  21- 
inch  English  parabolic  reflectors ;  lamps  and  burners  Ameri- 
can. Plating  and  reflectors  good  —  scratched  in  cleaning. 
Depth  of  reflector  8|  inches  ;  6|-  inches  for  ordinate  ;  placed 
on  two  faces  only.  Lantern,  iron.  Plate-glass,  24x36  inches. 
Ventilators  good  —  circular  —  resembling  furnace  registers. 
Lantern  too  small  for  present  arrangement  of  the  lamps  and 
reflectors  ;  keeper  absent.  Dome  of  lantern  and  inside  sashes, 
if  not  black,  not  very  clean.  Iron  floor  and  iron  staircase. 
Tov/er  of  rough-hammered  masonry,  laid  in  courses  with 
lime-mortar,  well  pointed.  Arch  to  lantern  floor  of  brick  ; 
dry  inside  ;  six  iron  bands  around  the  tower  outside.  Tower 
wants  whitewashing  inside  and  out,  and  a  little  painting. 
Two  copper  conductors  —  one  broken  and  neglected  by  the 
keeper  ;  all  the  bands  of  the  tower  touching  the  conductors. 
Tower  cracked.  Fog-bell  moved  by  machinery ;  weights  or 
hammers  too  light.  Keeper  took  charge  October  20,  1849. 
Does  not  light  up  at  sunset,  and  puts  out  before  sunrise. 
Has  a  cistern  for  rain  water.  Cellar  for  oil  under  dwelling 
not  in  order.  Oil-tanks  want  painting.  No  curtain  to  protect 
the  apparatus.  Dwelling-house  in  good  order  and  clean. 
Buoys  ill  the  harbor  and  its  approaches  too  small ;  gener- 
ally spar-buoys,  and  small  of  their  kind. 


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